Schools in Jharkhand would remain closed for students of classes nine to 12, as the secondary education wing of state education and literacy department has not yet sent its proposal for reopening of schools to the state disaster management department for approval.
The education department was earlier planning to reopen the schools from September 21 for students of classes nine to 12, who want to consult teachers at school to clear educational doubts.
Joint secretary of state disaster management department, Manish Tiwary, said, “We have not received any such proposal from the education department till date.”
The Unlock 4.0 guidelines, issued on August 30 by the Union ministry of home affairs, said schools will continue to remain closed till September 30. At the same time, it stated, “Students of classes nine to 12 may be permitted to visit their schools, in areas outside containment zones only, on a voluntary basis, for taking guidance from their teachers.”
On this line, the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) prepared a draft proposal for the secondary education wing for students of these classes.
In its proposal, the council has suggested that only 20 students are to be allowed in a class on a given day, so that one student occupies a bench in a bid to maintain social distancing. As far as teachers are concerned, 50% of them could be allowed as per the roster.
{{/usCountry}}In its proposal, the council has suggested that only 20 students are to be allowed in a class on a given day, so that one student occupies a bench in a bid to maintain social distancing. As far as teachers are concerned, 50% of them could be allowed as per the roster.
{{/usCountry}}However, the secondary education wing has not forwarded the proposal to the disaster management department yet.
Secondary education director Jatashankar Choudhary said, “We have not taken any such decision regarding reopening of the schools and we have not sent any proposal to the disaster management department in this regard.”
An official of the education department said schools would remain closed till September 30. Any decision in this regard would be taken after assessing all necessary points, he said.
It is to be noted that state education and literacy department had sought feedback from parents regarding reopening of schools and syllabus for students of classes nine to 12 between August 24 and 31. As many as 25.76% of the parents wanted schools to be reopened only in September, while 31.74% expressed willingness that classes be resumed after introduction of Covid-19 vaccine.