Schools in several states of the country are set to reopen, after a gap of five months, on Monday.
As per the Unlock 4.0 guidelines, the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs has given states the authority to decide whether they want to resume schools from Monday or not.
Many states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala, have chosen not to resume classes owing to the high number of coronavirus cases.
Here’s a list of states that are reopening schools come Monday
Assam: The Assam government earlier said that classes will resume for students between class 9 and 12 from Monday. For standards 9 and 12, classes will be conducted on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On the other hand, for the 10 and 11 standards, the classes will be held on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
“For every class, the students should be divided into two batches, so that, in any class, the total number of students is less than 20,” informed the Assam government in their standard operating procedure (SOP).
The government will review the situation after 15 days.
Haryana: In the state, senior students can visit their schools if they need guidance but schools will remain closed.
However, two government schools in Haryana’s Karnal and Sonepat have already opened on a trial basis. They divided students into groups as per colour codes to help them and their teachers maintain social distancing.
The trial involved groups of 20 students each.
Andhra Pradesh: The school authorities have decided that the schools in Andhra Pradesh would be reopened (only for students who want to have doubt clearing session) from September 21 but just for classes 9 to 12 i.e. intermediate second year.
However, children are only allowed to go to their schools if they are outside the containment zones and have written consent from their parent or guardian.
The regular classes are still closed for all classes in the state of AP till September 30.
Himachal Pradesh: Abiding by the Unlock 4.0 guidelines, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to reopen schools from Classes 9 to 12 from Monday only outside containment zones.
Karnataka: Schools will open partially from September 21, but regular classes will not resume. Only senior students can come to schools if they need guidance.
Schools will also reopen partially on a voluntary basis in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Chandigarh from Monday.
The state governments have also come out with their own set of guidelines.
What is the standard operating procedure (SOP) that the schools have to follow?
Leading to the reopening of schools as part of Unlock 4.0, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare laid detailed step-by-step instructions for the state governments and the schools to implement.
As mentioned earlier, the schools will reopen only for students of classes 9 & 12 — strictly on a voluntary basis.
The schools are allowed to open with 50% teaching and non-teaching staff. Students will have to get a consent slip from their parents to visit the schools from Monday.
However, the students and teachers living in the containment zones are not allowed to attend schools.
Along with that all the coronavirus preventive measures such as social distancing, covering face with a mask, washing or santising hands need to be strictly followed.
The ministry has also mandated the use of thermal scanners for screening the body temperature of students and teachers at the school entrance.
Schools have been advised to arrange different entry and exit gates. The virtual classes will also continue throughout the period.
