HP schools reopen to thin attendance
State cabinet had in a meeting held on Sept 24 decided to reopen the schools
DHARAMSHALA: Schools in Himachal Pradesh reopened on Monday for classes 9 to 12 with thin attendance and amid fear of the third wave of Covid.
The students of classes 1 to 8 will continue the online classes. Since, the Covid-19 outbreak in March last year, the schools have remained mostly shut.
Earlier, the schools were reopened in April and August, but had to be closed after spurt in Covid cases.
The state cabinet had in a meeting held on September 24 decided to reopen the schools.
As per the SOPS issued by the education department, the students of classes 10 and 12 would attend the school on first three days of the week and classes 9 and 11 on next three days.
The time of arrival, lunch break and departure would also be allotted in staggered manner.
Principal, Government Senior Secondary School (Boys), Dharamshala, Anish Banyal said the schools were strictly following the SOPS to prevent the spread of virus on the campus.
Sanitisation of the entire campus was done and students were screened with thermal scanners before entering the classes, he said.
“Students of different classes attending the school on alternate days is a wise decision and will help prevent the infection from spreading,” said Banyal.
He said they would also organise extra classes if students demand. There would be no sports or cultural event as per the SOPS, he added.
STUDENTS OF CLASSES 1 TO 8 WILL CONTINUE THE ONLINE CLASSES
Meanwhile, students are happy to rejoin the classes after a long gap.
Saloni, a student of Class 12 in a Kangra school, said though they were attending the online classes, it didn’t help much.
“Now that we are attending the school, we could meet the teachers and get clear understanding of concepts,” she said.
209 cases detected Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh logged 209 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday taking the state’s total case tally to 2,18,523.
No fatality was reported, and the death toll remained 3,653. Among the fresh cases, 49 were reported in Hamirpur, 39 in Kangra, 36 in Mandi, 24 in Solan, 20 in Bilaspur, 14 in Shimla, 13 in Kinnaur, five in Kullu and three each in Chamba Sirmaur and Una.