The guidelines issued on Tuesday by the Health Ministry for partial reopening of schools for Classes IX to XII said only schools outside the containment zones will be allowed to reopen. Students of the senior classes will be allowed to attend classes on a voluntary basis from September 21.
“Online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted and shall be encouraged and students of Class IX to XII shall be permitted to visit their school on voluntary basis for taking guidance from their teachers. This will be subject to written consent of their parents/guardians,” the Ministry said.
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‘Deep clean schools that were used as COVID centres’
The Health Ministry SOP (standard operating procedure) issued on Tuesday on partial reopening of schools for students of Classes IX-XII said schools used as quarantine centres should be properly sanitised and deep cleaned before partial functioning is resumed.
A worker taking samples at a temporary test centre in a school in New Delhi.
The guidelines said all work areas intended for teaching and demonstrations, including laboratories and common utility areas, should be sanitised prior to resumption of activities with 1% sodium hypochlorite solution, with particular attention to frequently touched surfaces. “The visits of students to schools and teacher-student interaction must be organised in a staggered manner,” the Ministry said.
Students, teachers and employees living in containment zones will not be allowed to attend the school, the Ministry said, adding that students, teachers and employees are advised not to visit areas falling within containment zones.
For training institutes
The Health Ministry has also issued SOPs for preventive measures in skill or entrepreneurship training institutions, higher educational institutions conducting doctoral courses and post-graduate studies in technical and professional programs requiring laboratory/experimental work.
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“Opening of higher educational institutions conducting Ph.D. or technical and professional programs requiring laboratory/experimental works will be permitted by the Department of Higher Education in consultation with MHA strictly following guidelines as indicated in the SOP,” said the Ministry.
The SOP has also advised that the academic calendar shall be planned to avoid overcrowding, congregation etc. and as far as possible, the calendar should promote a mix of regular classes and online teaching/training, assessments.
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“The day-wise, time-wise scheduling of teaching/training activities may be done in a staggered manner to avoid overcrowding at any one location on any day. For practical activities in laboratories, maximum capacity per session based on redesigned spaces may be planned and scheduled accordingly,” noted the SOP.
In all educational institutions — all employees who are at higher risk i.e., older employees, pregnant employees and employees who have underlying medical conditions, must take extra precautions.
