Pune schools gear up to reopen from October 4

With the state government directing schools to reopen from October 4, many educational institutes in Pune have started sanitising premises

Pune: As the state government directed schools to reopen from October 4, many educational institutes from the city have started sanitising premises.

Sanitisation process underway at Shrimati Gendibai Tarachand Chopda high school, Chinchwad, on Friday. Pune schools gear up to reopen from October 4. (HT)

Archana Panch, vice-principal, Ramanbaug English School, said, “On Friday, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials visited the school. The premises are sanitised and ready for October 4 reopening. Students will be back after almost after one and a half years and everyone is excited. All Covid protocols are followed to ensure safety of the students and staff.”

Speaking about the school reopening, Harishchandra Gaikwad, president, Pune District Principals’ Association, said students and teachers faced many hardships during the Covid pandemic.

“Online teaching affected students’ learning and offline classes is a welcome move. Schools will follow safety protocol wherein students will be seated as per social distancing norms and temperature checks and hand sanitisation will be carried out. Teachers and non-teaching staff are already vaccinated,” said Gaikwad.

Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra education minister, organised an online meeting ahead of reopening of schools from October 4.

In a tweet, Gaikwad said, “The webinar covered topics related to practical application of back to school, standard operating procedures (SOPs), mental rehabilitation of students, guidelines to teachers and schools. Our department reiterates its commitment towards providing quality education in a safe atmosphere to students rejoining physical classes after 1.5 years.”