Schools and colleges all over the country have remained closed since the announcement of the LOCK DOWN IN MARCH. The future of crores of students lie at stake . Owing to the spread of the corona virus and considering the rate and fatality of spread , the closure was needed. In a recent turn of events , the HRD Minister has released an official statement regarding the Reopening of Schools and Colleges.
Uncertainty was looming high in the minds of 30 crore students about Reopening of Schools and Colleges. According to certain reports that came out in May , schools and colleges were to re-open in the month of July. Unfortunately , the corona virus cases have crossed the 2.5 lakh mark in India. India now stands fifth in the world in terms of the number of people affected by the virus. Thus , the Reopening of Schools and Colleges in July seemed like a distant dream. Various surveys were conducted where almost 90% of the parents refused to send their kids to school in case they were to re-open in July.
WHAT DECISION HAS BEEN TAKEN ON THE REOPENING OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES?
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Nishank Pokhriyal in an official statement said that the schools and colleges would reopen in August 2020. He further added that the re-opening would possibly take place after 15th August , 2020.
Certain results of various exams have been pending . The Board exams of certain students are to take place in July . There has been a huge confusion and various questions in the minds of the students and teachers. Thus making things clear for the crores of students and teachers , Pokhriyal released an official statement.
“We are trying to get declared all the results from the examinations this session by August 15.” Pokhriyal said, “This means those exams which have already taken place before and those which are taking place now.” he further added.
WHAT IS THE STRATEGY FOR THE REOPENING OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES?
The HRD Minister , Pokhriyal , in the official statement released , said that the Reopening of Schools and Colleges would take place in a PHASED MANNER. The country has been divided into RED , ORANGE and GREEN ZONES. The RED ZONE has the maximum number of corona patients. It was made clear in the official statement that the Institutes would first open in the orange and green zones. The re-opening would be done in two shifts in order to maintain strict social-distancing norms.
According to the official statement , the schools would re-open only for the older students. Students of primary classes (1 to 7) will need to wait till schools are operating in full swing before they join. This has been done keeping in mind the fact that the young students would not be able to maintain their own safety.
WHAT MEASURES ARE TO BE FOLLOWED TO ENSURE THE SAFE OPENING OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES?
While UGC was deciding on safety guidelines for reopening colleges and universities, NCERT was doing the same work for schools.
According to the official notification UGC/NCERT Guidelines are to be followed to ensure the safe Re-opening of Schools and Colleges. Some of these guidelines are as follows:
- All teachers are supposed to wear masks and be fully protected.
- Thermal scanners should compulsorily be installed in the schools.
- Only two students would be allowed to sit on benches meant for three students.
- CCTV cameras are to be installed in and around the school campus to ensure that safety guidelines are followed.
“We are now trying to re-align the whole learning process , the instructional process, the way children will be called to schools. What happens at the entry and exit points at the school, what are the changed roles of teachers…we are working on all this.” School Education Secretary Anita Karwal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The DM and SDM are responsible to further better the guidelines for the Re-opening of Schools and Colleges.
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