Schools in Gurugram to reopen in a phased manner

GURUGRAM: The Haryana government has decided to reopen government and private schools from July 16 in a phased manner.
According to a decision taken on Friday, students of classes IX to XII can go to campuses from July 16 provided their parents give an undertaking. Those studying in classes VI to VIII can come to school from July 23.
No decision has been taken for students of classes I to V. An official of the secondary and elementary education department clarified it would not be mandatory for the students to visit school as online classes would continue. But schools allowing physical sessions would have to ensure strict social distancing and other such Covid protocols.
The department’s director will on July 12 conduct a video conference with teachers to clear all kinds of doubts.
Schools in Gurugram backed the government’s decision. Col Pratap Singh (retd), the district president of the Haryana Progressive Schools’ Conference, said, “We welcome the decision. The Covid situation appears to be stabilising and people have started going out. So, keeping schools closed would not be appropriate. We are all geared up to welcome kids back But we will observe the reaction of parents for 4-5 days and then make a decision.”
Several schools in the city have decided to ask parents to give a travel declaration. Students who have gone out on vacation or to attend any event would not be allowed to attend physical classes for 10 to 14 days, officials said.
“We’ll be sending out Google Forms to take the consent of parents. We’ll operate in the same manner as we did in the previous session,” said Rashmi Mallik, the principal of Salwan Public School.
Many, however, said ensuring Covid-appropriate behaviour on the campus would be key to continuing with the offline classes. “The onus is on all of us to ensure safety. Social distancing, proper sanitisation of the premises, and screening to detect early symptoms are just some of the things that the schools need to be mindful of,” said Aditi Mishra, the principal of Delhi Public School in Sector 45.