Delhi schools reopen today for classes 9 to 12; guidelines here
Delhi school reopening: Several schools and other educational institutions in the national capital are scheduled to reopen from September 1 with no more than 50 per cent of students per classroom and other related Covid-19-necessitated guidelines.
Schools in the national capital, Delhi, are set to reopen for classes 9 to 12 from today (that is, September 1, Wednesday) with a bunch of special protocols meant to adhere to the government-necessitated coronavirus disease (Covid-19) guidelines. However, the Delhi government has clarified that no student would be forced to physically attend classes, with several schools in the national capital also opting for a 'wait-and-watch' strategy to see how the situation progresses before they call in all their students.
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Delhi schools are reopening on September 1 after a prolonged closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, like most other educational institutions and coaching centres across India which were shut down following the imposition of the nationwide lockdown. On Friday last week, the Delhi government finally announced that all schools for classes 9 to 12, colleges, and coaching institutions in the national capital would be opening from the first day of September.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Monday notified the school reopening guidelines, which includes no more than 50 per cent of students per classroom, mandatory thermal screening, staggered lunch breaks, alternate seating arrangement, and avoiding routine guest visits. Moreover, students, teachers, and non-teaching staff who reside in Covid-19 containment zones will not be allowed to physically attend the classes, according to the DDMA guidelines, which added that the vaccination centres and activities ration distribution presently underway in different schools will continue in areas separate from the academic activities.
Also Read | Staggered lunch breaks, quarantine room: DDMA guidelines for school reopening
Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, took to Twitter last week to say that "Team Education" is ready to reopen schools safely. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had also said this is the “right time” for governments to take a “calculated risk” and resume classes in an appropriate way.
Along with Delhi, five other states and/or Union territories such as Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat have given the go-ahead to reopen schools from September 1. In Delhi, while the classes for standards 9 to 12 are resuming from today, those for standards 6 to 8 are slated to resume from September 8.