Will schools and colleges reopen from 1 September?
The central government may issue a fresh set of guidelines for the reopening of education institutes by 31 August. However, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise at an exponential rate in the country, the decision of reopening of schools and other educational institutions needs to be thought through. While many state governments are planning to bring back students to the classrooms, as part of the final unlock plan, there is still no confirmed date of reopening of the schools. It should be noted that the final decision to reopen the schools will be taken by the state governments keeping in mind the coronavirus caseload.
How will classes be conducted during the pandemic?
As per media reports, the schools will reopen in a phased manner as for the first 15 days, students of class 10 and 12 will attend their lectures. Also, different sections of a particular grade will be asked to attend schools on different days.
The total timing of the classes will also be reduced from regular 5-6 hours to a maximum of 2 to 3 hours. A shift system is also being proposed where classes will run from 8 am to 11 am for some students and between 12 pm to 3 pm for others. There will be an hour-long break in between the shifts for complete sanitisation of the classrooms.
As per a report published by Economic Times, children in pre-primary and primary classes will not need to attend school physically and will continue their education through virtual classrooms. After students of class 10 and 12 start going back to their schools in a staggered fashion, those in class 6 to 9 may also attend schools physically for a limited number of hours.