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Govt releases guidelines as schools prepare to counsel senior students
Only the schools outside of containment zones will resume and only the students and staff members living outside containment zones will be allowed to attend the schools.
New Delhi Distance learning shall be continued and encouraged, but students in standard 9 through 12 can visit schools, subject to written consent of their parents, according to the guidelines on partial reopening of schools released by the union health ministry on Tuesday.
Only the schools outside of containment zones will resume and only the students and staff members living outside containment zones will be allowed to attend the schools. Before resuming the activities, all work areas have to be sanitised using 1% sodium hypochlorite solution. Schools that had been used as quarantine centres will have to be deep cleaned before resuming, the guidelines say.
The schools will be allowed to call only half of their teaching and non-teaching staff for online teaching. All employees at higher risk – the elderly, pregnant women, or those employees with co-morbid conditions should preferably not be exposed to work requiring direct contact with the students.
Seating plans should be made in a manner that social distancing can be ensured and outdoor spaces should be utilised for teacher-student interactions, weather permitting, according to the guidelines. The schools have also been asked to ensure hand-washing facilities along with soap. Alternative to biometric attendance has to be used in schools as they resume work. Assemblies and sports events that can lead to overcrowding have been strictly prohibited, the guidelines say.
Bharat Arora, general secretary of the action aided committee of private unaided recognised schools -- and umbrella body of over 400 private schools in Delhi-- said that their association has already released its own SoPs for the partial re-opening of schools from September 21. “Our SoPs cover almost all the points mentioned in the one issued by the ministry of health and family welfare on Tuesday. Schools are preparing for the partial reopening on voluntary basis as permitted by the government. We will take all possible measures to ensure safety and security of the students at the school premises,” he said.
For practical activities such as laboratories, maximum capacity per session has to be planned with floor areas of 4 m sq available to each student, all equipment has to be disinfected, everyone must sanitise hands before and after using the equipment with sanitisers available on the work stations, the guidelines say.
Anyone who develops symptoms in the school has to be isolated from other and their guardians informed. The patient will remain in a mask or face cover and the nearest medical facility will be informed, the contacts will be traced, and the premises disinfected.
The schools have been asked to maintain back-up stocks of personal protective equipment such as face covers, masks, visors, and hand sanitizers. Teachers and management should have supply of alcohol wipes, 1% sodium hypochlorite solution, disposable paper towels, and pulse oximeters. The schools must ensure availability of covered dustbins.
Apart from the precautions, the schools have been advised to ensure regular counselling for students and teachers reporting mental health issues such as anxiety and depression
