Schools in the State are set to reopen on Monday after a long gap. Children, who have been away from the classroom teaching for the longest time, experience mixed emotions.
A large chunk of parents are apprehensive about sending their children to schools amidst daily reports of a gradual increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, and the impending threat of the third wave of the pandemic looming large.
The government, meanwhile, has been assuring the parents that the health of their children will be given top priority.
All schools will be sanitised and a strong safety net of COVID-19 guidelines have been put in place to keep the virus at bay.
The SOPs
The authorities have circulated a set of instructions to be followed by all the school managements. As per the instructions, all schools will be opened in areas that have less than 10% positivity rate. The village or ward secretariat should be taken as a unit to determine the positivity rate on a weekly basis.
Students in a classroom should be divided into batches with not more than 20 in each batch. The regular school timing will be followed and all teaching and non-teaching staff must attend every working day.
The schools that have sufficient space to conduct all classes in a single day with students divided in batches, should go ahead with daily classes. The institutions that do not have adequate facility to accommodate all the students on a single day, should opt for classes on alternate days.
The headmasters have been directed to first focus on preparing the students for the classroom interaction by mitigating the learning loss that occurred during the pandemic and then plan for regular academic activity, without compromising on the COVID-19 guidelines.
They have also been asked to prepare school-wise SOPs in consultation with the parents’ committees, and communicate the same to the respective education officers.
The schools have been asked to do away with morning assembly, group activities and games until further orders.
Random testing
Parents dropping the children should also be examined for COVID-19 symptoms. Besides masks, hand sanitizers and social distancing, six feet physical distance should be maintained in seating arrangement in the classrooms.
The Medical and Health Department has recommended, among other measures, random testing of students and one staff from each school every week. If they test positive, the entire class will be tested.
Prohibition of sharing of items like pens, pencils, erasers, books, water bottles, glasses and plates and constitution of a school-level task force include the other recommendations.