Delhi government issues guidelines for kids’ school return
NEW DELHI: Vaccinating teachers on priority, explicit consent from parents of students willing to attend school, and restrictions on sharing stationery or books in classrooms — these are among the guidelines the state education department recommended for institutions to thwart the spread of Covid-19, a day after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority allowed students of classes 10, 11 and 12 to visit school for admissions and board examrelated work.
“Online classes/digital distance learning will continue and students who wish to continue their studies through online classes will be allowed to do so. The concerned head of school shall make specific schedules as per the capacity of the classroom/labs following Covid-appropriate behaviour,” the directorate of education said in a circular issued to all schools on Monday.
All willing students between classes 10 and 12 will be allowed to visit schools, except students and staff members from containment zones.
“Proper sanitisation of school premises...shall be ensured by the head of school concerned,” the circular added.
Schools have also been directed to thermally screen all staff members and students, and those with flu-like symptoms will be asked to return. Teachers will be deputed at school gates during entry and exit periods to ensure distancing protocols are followed even outside the school’s premises. When classes resumed briefly between January and February this year for students of classes 9 to 12, several principals and teachers flagged the issue of overcrowding outside schools.
With the Capital’s Covid-19 caseload at a nearly 16-month low, several schools and parents inquired with the government if schools will reopen for senior students. This is mainly because of the two-term board examination introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) this year to prepare for an “unprecedented situation” arising due to the pandemic next year. The first set of board examinations for Class 10 and 12 is set to take place between November and December this year.