Delhi schools to remain shut until 31 July

New Delhi: Schools in the national capital will remain shut until 31 July, keeping the current covid-19 situation in mind. The government held a meeting to decide ways in which schools can be prepared for when they open including reducing working days for students of class 8 and below along with regular sanitisation in schools and no group activities.

Deputy chief minister and education minister, Manish Sisodia convened a meeting on Friday with the secretary education, director of education, and other senior officers from the directorate, along with the district deputy director of education, to decide on the subject of reopening schools in Delhi.

One of the suggestions in the meeting was that primary classes should be held once or twice in a week with a strength of 12-15 students in a class. Another point was made that classes can be conducted on alternate days for students of classes 3 to 5.

“Continuing with the online classes wherever possible, carrying proper sanitization work in classrooms, distributing masks to students, thermal screening of every student at the school entrance gate, and reduction of the syllabus were some of the major suggestions given at the meeting,” a statement by the government said.

Along the same lines, conducting classes once or twice a week for students of classes 6 to 8 was suggested. It was also proposed at the meeting to conduct classes three days in a week. Officials also stressed on reducing the syllabus by 30 to 50% to reduce the burden.

A district-wise report based on the suggestions from 829 teachers from Delhi government and private schools, 61 Head of Schools, 920 students, and 829 parents received online along with suggestions from 23262 teachers and 98423 parents at the school level formed the basis of district wise report.

For classes 10 and 12, the government has received suggestions that classes once or twice a week along with online classes should continue.

“Experiences related to continuing education through various programmes during the lockdown situation induced by COVID 19, were also discussed. Various points on introducing specific plans for every class were also discussed in the meeting. It was also decided to keep all schools closed till 31st July keeping in mind the current coronavirus situation,” the statement added.

The meeting comes a day after the Supreme Court was informed that the board exams for remaining subjects would be cancelled and students would be marked based on internal assessment.