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Mumbai: CM Uddhav Thackeray has given the green light to physical classrooms from October 4.
The 2021-22 school year began online on June 15th. A month later, 35% of schools in rural areas, including those in Thane and Palghar districts, opened for grades 8-12, with around 10% of students. In August, the state’s education department gave the green light to reopen grades 8 to 12 in urban areas and grades 5 to 7 in villages. Thackeray put the decision on hold after the state Covid task force expressed concerns about the third wave targeting children.
An official with BMC’s education department said the file to reopen the city’s schools would be submitted to the city chief on Monday. “A decision will be made soon as schools and colleges must establish SOPs by October 4,” the official said. The BMC on Wednesday allowed non-public school schools to hold board exams and practical exams from September to November.
School and college principals said the short notice to reopen will make it difficult to put all SOPs in place. “All schools and colleges will be holding the first semester exams next month. Most will want to have it online, â€said the head of a school in the city. He added that schools are expected to open after Diwali, when second trimester classes begin.
Among the new SOPs, there is that schools will have to set up a health clinic on site. Since in-person attendance will not be mandatory, schools will need to continue with the online learning process. Teaching and non-teaching staff will need to be vaccinated, and parental consent will be required to send students to schools. Gaikwad said a meeting with the task force last month and a comprehensive SOP paved the way for the schools to reopen.
Masks, social distancing, three to four hours of school per day and a student on a bench as outlined in the first SOP are some of the rules that will need to be followed. There will be no recreation or sports activities initially when schools reopen. Classroom instruction will need to step back for at least two weeks to allow students to get comfortable in their physical schools. “It will not be easy to take students from online to offline. We started to organize meetings on how to make children comfortable in classrooms, â€said one teacher. Parents said they would adopt a policy of waiting and watching before sending children to school.
The 2021-22 school year began online on June 15th. A month later, 35% of schools in rural areas, including those in Thane and Palghar districts, opened for grades 8-12, with around 10% of students. In August, the state’s education department gave the green light to reopen grades 8 to 12 in urban areas and grades 5 to 7 in villages. Thackeray put the decision on hold after the state Covid task force expressed concerns about the third wave targeting children.
An official with BMC’s education department said the file to reopen the city’s schools would be submitted to the city chief on Monday. “A decision will be made soon as schools and colleges must establish SOPs by October 4,” the official said. The BMC on Wednesday allowed non-public school schools to hold board exams and practical exams from September to November.
School and college principals said the short notice to reopen will make it difficult to put all SOPs in place. “All schools and colleges will be holding the first semester exams next month. Most will want to have it online, â€said the head of a school in the city. He added that schools are expected to open after Diwali, when second trimester classes begin.
Among the new SOPs, there is that schools will have to set up a health clinic on site. Since in-person attendance will not be mandatory, schools will need to continue with the online learning process. Teaching and non-teaching staff will need to be vaccinated, and parental consent will be required to send students to schools. Gaikwad said a meeting with the task force last month and a comprehensive SOP paved the way for the schools to reopen.
Masks, social distancing, three to four hours of school per day and a student on a bench as outlined in the first SOP are some of the rules that will need to be followed. There will be no recreation or sports activities initially when schools reopen. Classroom instruction will need to step back for at least two weeks to allow students to get comfortable in their physical schools. “It will not be easy to take students from online to offline. We started to organize meetings on how to make children comfortable in classrooms, â€said one teacher. Parents said they would adopt a policy of waiting and watching before sending children to school.
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