New Delhi: Schools in Delhi are set to for Classes 10 and 12 for admissions, counselling and practical activities, reports NDTV. The decision comes after Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Friday directed officials to set up an expert committee to chalk out a detailed plan noting that there is no harm now in reopening schools in the national capital. The directive was issued at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) chaired by Baijal, which was attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot.
Members from the medical fraternity AIIMS Director, Randeep Guleria; Vinod Kumar Paul (Member, Niti Aayog), Dr Sujeet Singh (Director, National Centre for Disease Control), Dr Balram Bhargava (Director General, ICMR) and Krishna Vatsa (Member, National Disaster Management Authority) were also present at the meeting. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said at the meeting that the prolonged school closure has led to major learning losses and majority parents want reopening of schools.
Schools in the national capital were ordered shut last year in March ahead of a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. While several states started partial reopening of schools in October last year, the Delhi government allowed physical classes only for grades 9-12 in January this year, which were again suspended following the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases.
The Delhi government, however, allowed auditoriums and assembly halls in schools to be used for training and meeting purposes, but physical teaching and learning remain suspended.