Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday said students need to get back to their normal routine and the government cannot afford to wait for COVID cases to drop to zero in order to resume classes.
Mr. Sisodia, also the Education Minister, inspected the COVID-19 protocols put in place at the Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Gandhi Nagar on Friday when classes resumed for students of Class IX and XII.
After inspecting the school, he said: “We cannot wait for ‘Zero COVID Case Day’ as it is necessary for us to adapt to our new lives in this pandemic. Students of Classes X and XII [reopened on January 18] were able to strictly follow COVID-19 instructions due to which we were confident to reopen Classes IX and XI as well.”
Mr. Sisodia asked all school authorities to take necessary COVID-19 and follow social distancing norms in its premises.
He added: “Our lives have slowly begun to get back on track. With the reopening of the schools, we are hopeful that we will be able to face all the uncertain challenges ahead of us.”
Expressing his excitement on seeing students back in the science lab of the school he visited, he said: “The aim of the government is to prepare our students to face adversities in life. We want them to be ready to overcome all obstacles in their lives.”
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: “Our students are really missing school. We have to protect them from COVID but also have to get the atmosphere of school back. Slowly we are getting the happiness and light of the school back.”
Sisodia attacks Centre
Mr. Sisodia also took a dig at the Central government for clearing a proposal that purportedly gives more power to the Lieutenant Governor.
“The Kejriwal government has broken the old traditions and established world-class schools in Delhi. But the Centre stealthily approved a bill, which aims to give more power to the L-G. This is directly hampering the working of the elected government in Delhi and curtail the ongoing development,” he said.
