Where do we seat the students, asks Ludhiana school housing cops on Covid duty

The school principal has already written to the police commissioner and informed the district education officer (secondary) regarding the problem.

With 15 of the total 30 classrooms at Government Senior Secondary School, Multipurpose, occupied by cops on Covid-19 duty, authorities are in a fix on where to accommodate the students when the school reopens partially for Classes 9 to 12, as part of the fifth phase of unlocking process which starts today.

Over 70 cops have been housed in 15 classrooms and a hall of Government Senior Secondary School, Multipurpose, Ludhiana. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Over 70 cops have been staying in the classrooms for the last five months and school will require them vacate these to ensure proper social distancing for students. The school has over 3, 000 students in Classes 9 to 12.

The school principal has already written to the police commissioner and informed the district education officer (secondary) regarding the problem.

When contacted, principal Navdeep Romana said, “We have already asked the parents for their consent but we can reopen the school only if the cops vacate our premises. As per our plan, we will be calling students of Classes 9 and 10 in the morning shift and Classes 11 and 12 in the afternoon shift.”

Covid control room at another school

Another school that has been affected by Covid-related activities is the Government Model Senior Secondary School, Cemetery Road, where a control room has been set up and a few classrooms are being occupied by officials of various government departments.

School principal Taskin Aktar said, “As per our plan, we will accommodate 15 to 20 students in one classroom. But we will face more problems when we have to set up the examination centre for Class-10 compartment exams here. The exam is scheduled for October 26 and at that time, we will require more rooms.”

As per information, as many as 373 students are set to take this exam.

When contacted, district education officer, secondary, Swaranjit Kaur, said, “I am aware of the issues faced by these two schools and will contact the departments concerned to vacate the rooms.”