Kashmir Schools To Reopen In Phases From March 1: Dir Edu

SRINAGAR: Director School Education Muhammad Younis Malik Tuesday said that the classwork in the Schools from class 9 to class 12 will resume from March 1 while the classwork for elementary classes shall resume from March 8.

Speaking to newsgathering agency Kashmir News Service Malik said that it is the decision of the UT admin to open the schools from March 1.

“We are continuously monitoring the situation. As the routine life is returning to normal gradually, the administration has reached to a decision to throw open the schools as well.

An order has been issued yesterday that Schools from Class 9-12 shall open from March 1 and the elementary schools will open from March 8."

However, he said, that teachers of elementary classes shall attend the schools from March 1.

"We have set guidelines to have safe schooling. We have already started cleanliness and sanitation drive and the situation will be continuously monitored so that parents feel their wards are in safe hands,” he said.

The director said that there will be no compromise on SOPs, wearing mask, social distancing and frequent hand sanitising.

"We have around 13 thousand schools including private ones with the admission of 13 lac students, and we have given them guidelines that wearing a mask, social distancing and hand sanitising is very important," he told KNS.

The director said that they have also given direction to schools heads to plan as per the prevailing situation. The schooling will be held in a staggered manner, like the school heads can ask students to avoid morning assembly and other co-curricular activities. “We can maintain distance whatever way we can,” he said.

“However we have sufficient space, in case there is any space crunch at any institution, there will be segregation, stagger or odd-even process, the school heads will take care of it,” he said.

Malik said that the directorate will create a task force, both at the zonal and district levels to monitor the situation continuously.

Answering to a question about the loss that the students suffered last year, he said, “We have tried our best, whatever the resources we have at our command we utilised them. We have community classes, assignments and online classes, we have delivered lectures on TV and radio.”

WE HAVE SET GUIDELINES TO HAVE SAFE SCHOOLING. We have already started cleanliness and sanitation drive and the situation will be continuously monitored so that parents feel their wards are in safe hands,”