Schools in the district have reached the final stage of preparations ahead of the reopening on November 1.
Managements have drawn out a standard operating procedure based on the guidelines prescribed by General Education and Health departments. Offline sessions for Classes 1 to 7 and 10 and 12 will begin on November 1. For students in classes 8, 9 and 11, offline sessions will start from November 15. Online and offline classes will be held simultaneously from Monday to Friday.
Many students have opted to continue attending online classes in view of the pandemic situation and other practical hurdles in joining offline sessions. With many unaided managements not offering bus services, working parents have decided to stick to the online mode.
Principals of city schools said that a short break would be provided between each period for students to relax in the presence of teachers. A snack break of around 10 minutes will be given for children. Schools have asked parents to ensure that students bring their own drinking water and snacks. They should compulsorily wear N95 masks and keep one as spare in their school bags.
Some of the managements have also recommended carrying sanitisers. Teachers would ensure physical distancing on campuses, they said. Parents have to ensure that private vehicles transporting children are adhering to the health protocol. They will not be permitted to crowd inside campuses after dropping children. Children having fever, cough, cold or any other ailments should remain at home.
Batches are not compulsory in schools where student strength is low, according to the Education Department. Differently abled students or those with co-morbidities need not come to school initially. If a school has more than 1,000 students, only 25% of the students need to reach the campus at one time.
Bio-bubbles will be implemented at the class level to ensure physical distancing. Each bio-bubble will comprise six to 10 students. One class may have two or three bio-bubbles. Only the students in the bubble will interact with each other. On no account should the students in one bubble interact with one in another bubble.
