Schools in Delhi to reopen for students of Classes 9 and 11 from Feb 5

Classes for students of 10 and 12 were allowed to resume from January 18 for pre-board preparations and practical work with strict masking and distancing guidelines in place.

The Delhi government on Friday allowed schools to reopen for students of Class 9 and Class 11, and colleges to restart from next month, which have been shut since March last year in order to avoid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the classes will resume from February 5 with the permission of parents and for clearing doubts and holding practical classes. Authorities will have to follow all Covid-19 protocols put in place, he added.

Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia Sisodia said the classes will resume from February 5 with the permission of parents and for clearing doubts and holding practical classes. (Amal KS/HT Photo)

Sisodia said the conditions would be similar to the ones announced when schools reopened for students of Classes 10 and 12 on January 18. Sisodia said students will attend classes only with the consent of parents and that physical attendance will not be compulsory and added that all schools and colleges will be expected to follow the Covid-19 guidelines.

"Schools for classes 9 and 11 students, as well as colleges and degree diploma institutions will reopen in Delhi from February 5, following Covid protocols. The students will attend classes in a staggered manner and with the permission of parents," Sisodia said, according to news agency PTI.

Classes for students of 10 and 12 were allowed to resume from January 18 for pre-board preparations and practical work with strict masking and distancing guidelines in place. The Centre had allowed the reopening of schools from September 21, 2020, for the first time after the nationwide lockdown in March. States were allowed to decide whether to reopen schools according to their Covid-19 situation.

Delhi has recorded 634,524 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), including 622,114 patients who have either been discharged or have migrated or recovered, according to the bulletin issued by the health department on Thursday. The Capital's death toll has mounted to 10,835 and the number of active cases in the national capital is 1,575, of which 645 are in home isolation.