Schools reopen from today(21 September): After almost six-months, schools in some states will reopen their gates to students of Classes 9-12 with a long list of rules to be followed as per the Covid-19 protocol announced in Unlock 4 by the central government.
Jio’s Rs 598 new plan offers 2GB daily data, free Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription ahead of IPL 2020
In the Unlock 4 guidelines, the union home ministry had permitted schools to reopen from September 21, Monday but left the final call to the states. It did, however, lay down a set of rules for schools to reopen. Students and teachers residing in containment zones are not permitted to attend schools. Schools are allowed to operate only with 50% teaching and non-teaching staff, while only students from classes 9 to 12 can attend, that too on a voluntary basis. Students who do decide to attend have to get a permission slip signed by their parents or guardians. Since attendance will be on a voluntary basis, schools that do decide to reopen will have to continue online classes for students who decide against attending physically.
SBI SO Recruitment 2020: Application begins for 92 specialist cadre posts
Know the detailed and complete list of rules, guidelines, and SOPs to be followed for the reopening of schools Here.
Students’ Safety to be Top Priority
However, with the rising number of cases of Coronavirus infection across the country, several states have also prioritized the safety of students and decided to defer the reopening of schools until next month. This includes states like Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, which will not allow classes to resume from today.
Even the states, which are planning to allow the reopening of schools from today have prescribed strict guidelines and SOPs that school administration needs to put in place before the reopening to ensure the complete safety of staff members and students.
State-wise Status of School Reopening post Lockdown
Karnataka
After initially giving a go-ahead for a partial reopening of schools in Karnataka, the state government has rolled back its decision and said that students are not allowed to visit schools and pre-university colleges from 21s Sept 2020 i.e. Monday. The new notification states that no regular classes would be conducted in the state and therefore, students of classes 9 to 12 have been barred from visiting schools. In the new order issued by the state government, the Education Department has passed new guidelines which say “as the pandemic continues to rage the state, the state government felt it was not safe to call students to colleges or schools to meet teachers.” State Education Minister held a review meeting with officials from the education department, in which it was decided to roll-back the decision to allow students into schools starting from Monday.
Bihar
Educational Institutions including Schools will not reopen in the state of Bihar from Monday onwards, in accordance with the Unlock 4 Guidelines issued by the Home Ministry. According to a report, Bihar’s education department will hold a meeting on Tuesday to take a decision on reopening school in the state. During the meeting, the prevailing situation with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state would be reviewed and decisions regarding school reopening would be taken. The proper guideline will be issued after consulting stakeholders for ensuring the safety of children at schools, a senior official said.
Get Complete Details Here
Nagaland
The State Government of Nagaland has permitted the partial reopening of Schools from Monday i.e. 21st Sept 2020. The official notification says that students of Class 9 to 12 are allowed to visit schools on a “voluntary basis”, to seek academic guidance’ in line with Unlock 4.0. The decision has been taken by the state government in line with the Home Ministry’s recent guidelines that allow for a partial reopening of schools across the country for voluntary sessions with parent’s consent.
Punjab Update
Punjab School Reopening News: According to the update coming from Punjab, the state government has decided to allow the reopening of higher education institutions from September 21 for Ph.D. scholars and postgraduate students pursuing technical and professional courses requiring experimental work. However, Punjab Govt has still put a blanket ban on reopening of schools, colleges, and coaching centers across the state, despite Unlock 4.0 Guidelines allowing for the same.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu State Government decided against reopening of schools in the state from 21st Sept 2020 – Monday by saying that on shift-based classes would be allowed in the schools. State Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan hinted that there would not be any phased reopening in schools across Tamil Nadu. Simply put, the Education Minister has said that schools across the state for all classes would reopen simultaneously once the pandemic situation is under the control of the state.
Andhra Pradesh
The Andhra Pradesh Government has announced that it will be allowing partial reopening of schools for Class 9 and above students starting from tomorrow i.e. 21st Sept 2020. State Government has informed students that they have the choice to attend the classes either physically or virtually. To put it simply, from tomorrow onwards, Class 9 to 12 students from Andhra Pradesh will have the option to attend their classes either in an online format from home or opt to go for physical or face-to-face classes that will be held at schools.
Himachal Pradesh
The Himachal Pradesh State Government has decided to go ahead with the partial reopening of schools in the state from Monday i.e. 21st Sept 2020. In line with the Unlock 4.0 Guidelines, schools in HP would open only for Class 9 to 12 students for doubt solving sessions. The decision to reopen schools on a partial basis was taken by the State Cabinet in a review meeting held on Friday under the chairmanship of HP CM Jai Ram Thakur. Schools in the state would reopen after nearly 6 months of being closed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that was enforced to curb it.
Delhi
The Directorate of Education, DoE Delhi has announced that all the schools and educational institutes in the national capital would remain closed until 5th October 2020. The directorate also announced that during this period, online classes for students will continue through digital and other mediums. The announcement comes following the Home Ministry’s Unlock 4.0 Guidelines that allow the partial reopening of schools from 21st Sept 2020 onwards for Class 9 and above students.
Meghalaya
Meghalaya School Reopening News: Going by the latest update coming in at this moment, the Meghalaya Govt has allowed the partial reopening of schools from 21st Sept onwards, in line with Home Ministry’s Unlock 4.0 Guidelines. However, the state government has allowed the opening of schools only for scattered doubt solving sessions and no regular classes will be held at schools in the state until further orders.
Goa
Goa State Government is considering partial reopening of schools for Class 10 and Class 12 students from 2nd October onwards, in line with Home Ministry’s Unlock 4.0 Guidelines. Goa CM Pramod Samant said that as of now a final decision with regards to reopening of schools in the state has not been taken, but soon a consultative review meeting will be held with all the stakeholders in which final decision will be taken.
However, from 21st Sept onwards, the state government is planning to allow students to visit schools on a voluntary basis for doubt solving sessions with the teachers. However, in line with Unlock 4.0 Guidelines, students visiting schools for such sessions would need to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines and also ensure that they carry a consent letter duly signed by their parents.
Chandigarh
Schools in the Union Territory of Chandigarh are all set to reopen from 21st Sept 2020 for students of Class 9 and above. According to reports, parents of over 50% of students have expressed their consent to allow students for voluntary visits to the schools for guidance. According to tentative estimates, around 25,000 students studying at over 90 schools in the Union Territory of Chandigarh have submitted their consent forms to visit their schools starting from 21st Sept for doubt solving sessions with their teachers.
Assam
On 16th Sept – Wednesday, the Assam Government released the Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs for students from Classes 9 to 12 for whom classes are set to resume in schools from 21st September 2020 onwards. The SOPs for re-opening of schools have been designed keeping in mind the COVID-19 protocols. The schools in the state have been closed for six months since 15th March 2020 owing to the pandemic. Although the teaching was continued online, several students have not been able to access it due to a number of constraints.
Gujarat
Gujarat Government has decided against the partial reopening of schools starting from 21st Sept 2020 for Class 9 and above students in the state. The Decision was taken by Gujarat Cabinet in a review meeting led by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. Earlier, the Home Ministry had allowed state governments to decide partial reopening of Schools after evaluating the prevailing situation in the state or region with regards to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, so far, no major state government has decided to go ahead with the reopening of schools due to the rising number of COVID-19 infections.
Haryana
One of the first states to show a willingness to reopen schools after the central government’s nod, Haryana Govt is planning to start in-person voluntary classes for school students from 21st Sept onwards. Earlier last week, Haryana Education Minister Kanwar Pal Singh Gujjar had issued a statement saying that the ‘the state is ready to open schools once again.’ To ensure complete safety as well as the health and well-being of the students, the state government has put in place elaborate processes and protocols as well as sanctioned additional budget for the sanitization of schools. However, initially, on a trial basis, the state government plans to reopen two schools in Karnal and Sonepat districts for Class 10 and Class 12 students only after getting approval for the majority of parents.
Uttar Pradesh
As per the latest news coming in, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister has hinted that Schools may remain completely closed for this month owing to the compelling circumstances presented by the pandemic. Interacting with media persons, UP Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, who also holds the portfolio of Education Minister, informed them that the chances of the state’s decision of partial reopening of schools from September 21 are extremely bleak. Earlier, there were reports which hinted that UP Govt may allow the partial reopening of schools for students of Class 9 and above from 21st Sept onwards in line with the Unlock 4.0 Guidelines of the Central Govt.
Irrespective of that decision, the state government has already commenced the new academic session and is regularly holding online / virtual classes for students through Doordarshan UP for Class 10 and 12, and Swayambha channel for Class 9 and 11.
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand Govt has rolled back its earlier decision to allow the partial reopening of Schools in the state for higher classes i.e. for 9th Class and above from 21st Sept 2020. Now schools in the state will remain closed until 30th Sept 2020. Currently, the Central Govt through Home Ministry’s Unlock 4.0 guidelines has allowed states to consider partial reopening of schools in the states for Class 9 and higher students, starting from 21st Sept 2020. However, the UK Govt is likely to keep schools closed in the state until 30th Sept 2020 owing to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state.
Andhra Pradesh
YSR Jagan Mohan Reddy led AP Govt has also given a favorable response to the reopening of schools in the state. As per the recent directive of the state government, 50 percent teaching and 50 percent non-teaching staff have been allowed to attend school. In line with Unlock 4.0 Guidelines, students will also be allowed to visit schools for doubt solving sessions with written consent from their parents.
Jharkhand
Jharkhand State Government is also planning to reopen schools for students who are in Class 9 and above. Jharkhand State Education Minister Vaidyanath Mahato had earlier expressed concerns about the digital divide hampering the education of students in the state. He had said that as per a survey, only 27% of students in urban areas of the state have access to online classes and this number is even lower in rural areas. In line with these concerns, the state govt plans to reopen schools from 21st Sept onwards for classes 10 and 12 students.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is unfortunately still the worst affected state with its commercial capital Mumbai now taking over the mantle of being India’s COVID-19 capital as well. Being the worst affected state, the state government has decided to keep schools in the state closed until 30th Sept 2020. However, in line with Unlock 4.0 guidelines, it may allow students from class 9-12 to visit the schools for guidance on a voluntary basis.
