Coaching centres await SOPS to reopen
NEW DELHI: Days after deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia announced resumption of physical classes in schools for classes 9-12, coaching classes and colleges in a phased manner from September 1, several coaching institutes in the Capital said that they are waiting for the Delhi government to issue standard operating procedures to begin in-person sessions. Many institutes have also started taking steps to collect consent from parents of students, vaccinate staff and devise staggered classes.
The SOPS for schools are expected to be issued in the next few days and owners of many coaching institutes said that their guidelines will be along similar lines.
Keshav Agarwal, president, Educators Society, a consortium of around 300 coaching centres in Delhi, said that they are waiting for clear guidelines. “I have heard that the government is likely to allow us to resume physical sessions at a third of the centre’s strength. We will also be following protocols such as vaccination of teachers and other sanitisation protocols,” he said.
Agarwal underlined that the infrastructural capacity of coaching centres is lower than schools, admitting that implementation of distancing norms will be challenging. “A single school classroom will be equivalent to two rooms at a coaching centre. Adjusting will be difficult but it all depends on the SOPS,” said Agarwal.
Agarwal said students will not return immediately, adding that outstation students may return only after the Diwali break. “Most students will wait and watch, and monitor the situation for the first 15 days. Outstation students in particular will see how things take shape in the coming days,” he said.
Aakash Chaudhry, managing director of Aakash Educational Services Limited, said that the institute will take written consent from parents when it reopens. “The institute has made it mandatory for those who wish to attend the classroom coaching to have the written consent of their parents. We will also facilitate contactless attendance and proper crowd management to mitigate the risk of spreading the virus,” said Chaudhry.
Meanwhile, Delhi government’s scheme to provide free coaching at established at institutes for SC/ST students preparing for competitive exams -- civil services, judicial services, banking, engineering, medicine -- is likely to start again.
“I am happy that now we will be able to start Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana which was closed for a long time due to Covid-19,” tweeted Delhi’s social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Friday.