Special plans have been prepared for student safety ahead of reopening of schools and colleges, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
At his press briefing on Saturday evening, the Chief Minister said apart from the arrangements by the Education and the Health Departments, plans will have to be made at the the level of individual schools too.
The State Police Chief too has been directed to prepare an action plan for student safety. All station house officers (SHOs) would hold meetings with heads of educational institutions and school management representatives in their jurisdictions to assess preparedness related to students’ health and safety aspects. It will be the responsibility of the police to ensure the efficiency of school transport. The support of the Motor Vehicles Department can be sought.
Maintenance of vehicles should be completed before October 20. Irrespective of whether a student uses school transport or personal transport, those driving vehicles carrying students should have experience of at least 10 years. One teacher should be posted as school safety officer.
The SHOs must visit schools to ensure the guidelines are being observed. Meetings in closed rooms and halls should be avoided.
Along with parent-teacher associations, Local Self-government and Education Departments, health workers of primary health centres should also be consulted before preparing micro-level plans for the reopening. Services of doctors should be ensured in schools. School PTAs should be revived at the earliest before the reopening.
The chances of COVID-19 infection in children were lower. However, the possibility of some students getting infected could not be ruled out. This should be factored in while preparing for the reopening. Hence, all contacts of children should be vaccinated. They should also avoid coming into contact with many other people, Mr. Vijayan said.