Schools to reopen from 1st September |
As India crossed the 2 million mark in the number of COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the Indian government is framing a plan to re-open schools and other educational institutions in a phase-wise manner between September 1 and November 14. The modalities of the plan have been discussed by the group of secretaries attached to the Group of Ministers on COVID-19 management, headed by Union Health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. The decision is likely to be notified as part of the final unlock guidelines to be issued later in August which would guide the states on unlocking the remaining activities after August 31. According to sources, the final decision would be left to the state governments on how and when to bring back students to the classrooms. Broad standard operating procedures would be issued for schools and educational institutions. States, where COVID-19 cases have been low, have also expressed their keenness to bring back students of senior classes. The guidelines, which have been vetted by the ministry of education and the health ministry, recommend the opening of schools and running them in a phased manner. For the first 15 days, students of Class 10 to 12 would be asked to attend school. Different sections of a class would get days to attend school. In a school, the number of hours would be restricted from 5-6 to 2-3 hours of physical attendance.
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