Schools in Kerala are set to reopen in a staggered manner on Monday, the state’s 65th birth anniversary, after a gap of nearly 20 months due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Classes I to VII, X and XII will begin in the first phase with strict Covid protocols in place, the government said on Sunday. The general education department has made arrangements to conduct ‘pravesanotsavam’ – celebration of the new academic year – in all schools to welcome the students. Ministers will inaugurate these celebrations in select schools at the district level and collectors, deputy directors of education, MPs, MLAs and civic body members, among others, will attend. Though attendance is not mandatory, teachers said over 95% of students have expressed willingness to attend school.
Various departments have worked to ensure the safe conduct of classes while the preparations included cleaning and disinfecting the school premises and implementing a bio-bubble system. Special teams of police and motor vehicles department have been deployed to ensure implementation of protocols outside schools and in school buses. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook post that the absence of regular classes had created serious challenges in the education sector.
The state is recovering from the challenges caused by the pandemic and reopening of educational institutions is a major step in this regard, he said. “Kerala is recovering from the crises; we all should stand and work together for the progress of the state. It is very important to ensure safe conduct of classes. I am seeking the people’s support to ensure that the school reopening goes well as planned,” he said.
A P M Mohammad Hanish, principal secretary, general education, said the schools, teachers and parents should follow the guidelines released by the health and education departments after discussion with other departments. ‘Plan to resume mid-day meals scheme at the earliest’ The district administration is working for the smooth reopening of schools and extra support will be given to schools in tribal and coastal areas.
Special attention will be given to schools with students belonging to linguistic minorities and migrant labour families,” he said. The government is planning to resume the mid-day meal scheme at the earliest. “We want to provide mid-day meals to students as early as possible. It might take a few more days,” Hanish said, adding that only a few schools in Idukki had relief camps functioning in their buildings. “Though the schools are reopening to restart physical classes, we will ensure a triple-medium of learning. i.e. offline, online and digital classes. The online classes by schools and digital classes via KITE Victers, which has two channels now, will continue,” he added.
