Schools and PU colleges will reopen on January 1 for students of classes 10 and 12 as scheduled, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education has said. Schools will be opened after a span of nine-and-a-half months.
Though the government had announced the date earlier this month, because of the emergence of a new strain of the coronavirus in the U.K., department officials were in a dilemma on whether the reopening should be as per schedule. The State government had then stepped up its monitoring mechanism and was screening all passengers who were arrivitng from the U.K.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar, on Monday, wrote to district in-charge Ministers and members of the Legislative Assembly and requested them to oversee the preparations made by the district authorities.
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In the letter, the Minister said that it was important that schools are reopened so that children are engaged in continuous learning. “We need your support in the functioning of schools throughout the year; reopening of schools is not an activity restricted to a day or a month, and it is a year-long process.”
The reopening of schools on January 1 will be amidst several precautionary measures. Students who attend the classes will have to submit consent letters from their parents if they wish to attend classes.
Many private schools have, however, decided against reopening schools for class 10 and 12 students from January 1, and have decided to continue with the online classes.
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While some school managements have taken this decision as they want to avoid the risk of spreading COVID-19 on their campuses, some others say they are unable to reopen as they cannot afford the cost of following all the standard operating procedures laid out by the State government.
Mr. Suresh Kumar has said that after looking at how classes 10 and 12 are being conducted, they would decide on the reopening of other classes in a phase-wise manner.
Meanwhile, Vidyagama programme for students of classes 6 to 9 will also be conducted from January 1. Under this programme, students of all school managements can attend classes held on the school campus.