E-Paper
HP schools reopen to thin attendance
Schools in Himachal Pradesh reopened on Monday for classes 9 to 12 with thin attendance and amid fear of the third wave of Covid
Schools in Himachal Pradesh reopened on Monday for classes 9 to 12 with thin attendance and amid fear of the third wave of Covid.
The students of classes 1 to 8 will continue their online classes. Since, the Covid-19 outbreak in March last year, the schools have remained mostly shut.
Earlier, the schools were reopened in April and August, but had to be closed after spurt in Covid cases.
The state cabinet had in a meeting held on September 24 decided to reopen the schools.
As per the SOPs issued by the education department, the students of classes 10 and 12 would attend the school on first three days of the week and classes 9 and 11 on next three days.
The time of arrival, lunch break and departure would also be allotted in staggered manner.
Principal, Government Senior Secondary School (Boys), Dharamshala, Anish Banyal said the schools were strictly following the SOPs to prevent the spread of virus on the campus.
Sanitisation of the entire campus was done and students were screened with thermal scanners before entering the classes, he said.
“Students of different classes attending the school on alternate days is a wise decision and will help prevent the infection from spreading,” said Banyal. He said they would also organise extra classes if students demand.
There would be no sports or cultural events as per the SOPs, he added.
Meanwhile, students are happy to rejoin the classes after a long gap. Saloni, a student of Class 12 in a Kangra school, said though they were attending the online classes, it didn’t help much.
“Now that we are attending the school, we could meet the teachers and get clear understanding of concepts,” she said.
Another student, Akriti Sharma, said the classroom studies are much better than the online classes.
“Hope we will be able to cover our syllabus as the schools have now reopened. We also wish that there is no third wave. Covid has already hit our studies badly,” she added.
About five lakh students are enrolled in classes 9 to 12 in Himachal Pradesh of whom, more than three lakh are registered in government in schools and the remaining ones in private.
209 cases detected in state
Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh logged 209 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday taking the state’s total case tally to 2,18,523. No fatality was reported, and the death toll remained 3,653.
Among the fresh cases, 49 were reported in Hamirpur, 39 in Kangra, 36 in Mandi, 24 in Solan, 20 in Bilaspur, 14 in Shimla, 13 in Kinnaur, five in Kullu and three each in Chamba, Sirmaur and Una.
The active cases have come down to 1,730 while recoveries reached 2,13,124 after 225 people recuperated.
Kangra is the worst-hit district with a total of 48,830 cases reported till date, followed by 30,868 in Mandi and 27,169 in Shimla.
No cultural or commercial events at Kullu Dussehra
No cultural or commercial activities will be held during the International Dussehra Festival of Kullu being held from October 15. Only the deities will be invited to perform the rituals and ceremonies, the state government decided at a meeting of the Kullu Dussehra Committee that CM Jai Ram Thakur presided over.
The CM has the directed district authorities to complete preparations related to the Dussehra in a time-bound manner, with Covid-19 norms to be followed.
