The district administrations in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur are all set to reopen schools for Classes I to X on Monday, with refurbished classrooms and other amenities. Ahead of the reopening of schools, a week-long exercise of refurbishing the campuses, especially those of government schools in these districts, was undertaken, with volunteers including residents and students pitching in to give a fresh look to the schools. As the academic year is set to be a normal learning year, with regular classes and examinations as against online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools were given a facelift, including the removal of bushes, erection of steel fences around the campuses and replacement of old electrical lines and water pipelines (mainly to toilets). Overhead tanks were cleaned. “Schools in remote areas are given special attention in terms of basic facilities for students and staff. Books will be distributed soon,” said K. Munuswamy, Chief Educational Officer, Vellore. A help desk (04175-250814; 04175-253845) has been set up at the Tiruvannamalai Collectorate for the public to report any negligence in following safety measures. Special buses are being arranged for transporting students to schools. The Tiruvannamalai district has 1,600 schools, including 545 high and higher secondary schools, with over 12 lakh students. Vaccination for students in the age group of 15-18 has been intensified, especially for the second dose. Currently, more than 90% of students in this age group in these four districts have been completely vaccinated. Special camps will be held in schools to cover the remaining students, officials said. In Vellore, the vaccination drive, especially for teachers and college students, is being jointly carried out by the Vellore Corporation and the district administration. The Corporation alone has 200 schools with more than 5,000 teachers. On an average, 4,000 people, including teachers, traders, residents and students, are being vaccinated every day within the Corporation limits. Interestingly, newly-carved-out districts such as Tirupattur and Ranipet have vaccinated all their teachers. Tirupattur district has around 250 schools from primary to higher secondary levels, covering its six education taluks, including Jolarpet, Tirupattur, Nattrampalli and Mathanur. Ranipet district has 754 schools, including 230 high and higher secondary schools. Most of the students in the specified age group and teachers are vaccinated. The respective RTOs in these districts have been conducting checks on the fitness of school vans. Meanwhile, officials said books for all levels had been dispatched to all education blocks in these districts. Schools will be distributing books to students from Monday onwards, officials said.
