Schools to reopen for students of classes 6-8

Schools across the state will reopen for students in classes 6 to 8 from February 1 — nearly 11 months after they were closed across the country amid Covid-19 outbreak in March last year

Schools across the state will reopen for students in classes 6 to 8 from February 1 — nearly 11 months after they were closed across the country amid Covid-19 outbreak in March last year. Students are required to produce a medical well-being certificate and a parental consent letter for school visits as per the SOP(standard operating procedure) issued by the education department on Friday.

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In a directive shared with all district education officers on Friday, the directorate of education said that the state government had decided to reopen schools for students in classes 6 to 8, while taking cognisance of the importance of learning and classroom lessons for students. Both government and private schools will be allowed to conduct classes of three-hour duration from 10am till 1.30 pm for students in these classes, as per the directive.

Voluntary visits to schools for doubt-clearing sessions were allowed from September, followed by regular classes from November 2 for students in classes 9 to 12. In mid-November, the Haryana government decided to shut schools till November 30, over concerns of a spike in Covid-19 cases among students. Government and private schools reopened on December 14 for students of classes 10 and 12 and on December 21 for classes 9 and 11.

“The idea behind the health clearance is to ensure that students coming to school do not have a cold, cough or fever and are healthy. Written consent from students will also be sought prior to visits,” said Kalpna Singh, deputy district education officer.

The department said that free health check-ups at PHCs and other facilities will be coordinated by the district administration in consultation with the chief medical officer to avoid any inconvenience to students and no tests will be conducted on the school campus. The directive also mentioned that cooked meals will not be provided in schools and the delivery of dry ration to students’ houses will continue for now.

Shyam Raghav, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Bhondsi, said that the school had received the order pertaining to school reopening on Friday evening and would apprise students about the development. “Students in classes 9 to 12 have been visiting the school regularly for sessions. From February 1, students in 6 to 8 will also join us. We will reach out to all students, inform them about the requirements, and ensure that adequate measures are taken for physical distancing in classes,” said Raghav.

Most private schools said that they were likely to continue with online classes for students in these classes. They said that feedback from parents will be taken before arriving at any decision pertaining to school visits. Aparna Erry, principal of the DAV Public School in Sector 14, said that while the school had started calling students in classes 9 to 12 for sessions, online classes were continuing for all other classes. “As always, we will seek feedback from parents. Based on their feedback, we will make a decision. For now, students seem to be comfortable with online classes,” said Erry.