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HP education department issues guidelines as schools reopen today
The Himachal Pradesh cabinet, in a meeting held on Monday, had allowed to reopen the schools for regular classes 3 to 7 from November 10 and classes 1 and 2 from November 15
With the schools in Himachal Pradesh set to reopen for lower classes on Wednesday, the education department has laid down standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of Covid among the children.
The Himachal Pradesh cabinet, in a meeting held on Monday, had allowed to reopen the schools for regular classes 3 to 7 from November 10 and classes 1 and 2 from November 15.
Students of classes 8-10 are already attending regular classes since September 27.
It would be after more than one-and-a-half-year that students of lower class will attend the school.
As per the education department SOPs, classes will be held at 50% capacity.
The remaining students will attend the class in a separate classroom.
Only one student will be allowed to sit on one desk and there will be a ban on activities like sports and morning assemblies where crowding may take place.
Arrival, lunch break and departure of the students will be in a staggered manner, the SOPs state.
Director of higher education, Amarjeet Sharma, has directed the school principals to prepare a microplan as per the student strength and capacity of classrooms.
Students will be allowed to enter the school only after thermal scanning and wearing masks would be mandatory for teachers and students, said Sharma.
It is worth mentioning that the schools were closed in March 2020 after Covid outbreak in the state.
The schools reopened for board classes in October 2020 and later in February 2021, but were closed due to the spurt in Covid cases. The annual exams in the schools were also cancelled as the second wave hit the state.
After the Covid cases subsided, the government reopened the schools for classes 8 to 12 on September 27.
Since then more than 700 school students have caught the infection and one student has died, the state government had announced week-long vacations on Diwali to break the chain.
130 more test positive for Covid in HP
Meanwhile, Himachal’s Covid case count rose to 2,25,205 after 130 people tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
The death toll mounted to 3,768 as one patient succumbed to the contagion.
The highest 53 cases were reported from Kangra, followed by 25 from Hamirpur, 18 from Una, 14 from Shimla, nine each from Bilaspur and six from Kullu, three from Solan, two from Kinnaur and one from Sirmaur.
The active case count came down to 1,083, while the recoveries reached 2,20,297 after 169 people recuperated.
Kangra is the worst-hit district with 51,205 cases to date followed by 31,721 in Mandi and 27,626 in Shimla
