All schools to remain shut till November 30

All schools in Haryana will be shut till November 30 in view of the rising cases of Covid-19 among students and teachers in various districts of the state.

All schools in Haryana will be shut till November 30 in view of the rising cases of Covid-19 among students and teachers in various districts of the state.

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More than 180 government school students and 110 staff members in different districts have tested positive since schools reopened for regular classes earlier this month. The numbers were high in districts such as Rewari, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar and Rohtak.

Schools across the country first were shut in mid-March when the countrywide lockdown in response to the outbreak of Covid-19 and shifted to online teaching. Voluntary visits to schools for clearing doubts for a limited time period were initiated by the state government in September followed by regular classes from November 2 for students in classes 9 to 12.

District education officer (DEO) Indu Boken said that extensive sanitization will be undertaken in schools over the next ten days when schools remain closed. During this period, schools will continue with online classes as before.

Gurugram block education officer Sheel Kumari said schools heads could visit schools along with non-teaching staff for administrative work, if required. “The order for closure came late during the day. We have asked schools to inform students about it. School staff will inform other students if they visit the school tomorrow. Classes will continue online and administrators will be able to visit the school for work, as they had been doing during the lockdown,” said Kumari.

Suman Sharma, principal of Government Model Senior Secondary School in Sector 4/7, said that students had been informed about the closure of schools and online classes would continue as before. “A number of students had been coming to school for classes for clearing doubts and catching with lessons since schools reopened. The experience of a physical classroom session is difficult to replicate online but the safety of students necessitated the closure. We have informed students who are in touch with us,” said Sharma.

While most private schools had been continuing with online classes over physical classroom sessions, teachers who had started visiting the schools have been asked to work from home from Monday.

Anita Malhotra, principal of Lotus Valley International School, said that the school had informed teachers about the closure. “We have been conducting online classes since most parents are not in favour of schools visits. Teachers who had been coming to school will be working from home till November 30 in line with the government directions,” said Malhotra. The school will remain open for administrative work.