Thiruvananthapuram: The guideline regarding the opening of the school next month has been released. Health Minister Veena George handed over the guidelines to Education Minister V Sivankutty.
Classes one to seven, classes 10 and 12 will start from November 1 and the rest from November 15. This guideline contains instructions to be followed when opening schools in the current context.
General Instructions:
Children must attend school with the consent of their parents. Children must follow the covid protocol in classes and on campus. Classes 1 to 7 can have a maximum of two children in a bunch. Divide a class into two: Up to half of the maximum number of students in a class can attend at a time. Arrangements can be made to start classes between 9 am and 10 am for the convenience of schools. Classes for the first two weeks should be scheduled until noon. Saturdays, except public holidays, are working days.
Classes should be arranged in such a way that only 25% of the total students come to the campus at a time if there are more than 1000 students. The children in each class can be divided into batches to control the number of students. Such batch adjustment is not mandatory in schools with low enrollment. Arrangements will be made by the school principal. The number of students required to reach the school should be determined following the Covid criteria based on the likelihood of physical conditions. Each batch should be allowed to attend school for three consecutive days (two days in extra schools). The next batch will arrive at the school in the next three days. A student enrolled in a batch must remain in the same batch permanently.
The decision can be made after considering the opinion of the parents regarding the arrangement of batches. It is advisable to include children from an area in a batch as much as possible. Children with disabilities do not have to come in the first phase. Children with any kind of illness and children in contact with the sick at home do not have to attend school. Children with symptoms (cough, fever, cold, sore throat, other covid related symptoms) who have/are suspected of having primary contact/staff, children/staff who are out of contact, and those who are from locally controlled areas due to the spread of covid are not required to attend school.
Covid protocol must be strictly adhered to if covid victims are at home. Only well-ventilated rooms/halls should be selected for teaching. Open space study should be encouraged whenever possible. Parents who come to pick up and drop off their children at school should be careful not to enter the school or gather in groups. Steps should be taken to provide the school lunch plan taking into account the situation of the schools. This must be done in compliance with the Covid protocol.
After the first two weeks, the Department of Education will review the number of students who need to attend class, the shift system, and provide necessary instructions. Model residential schools can be open. Although it has been suggested that children with disabilities should not be enrolled in public schools in the first instance, special schools for children with visual / hearing impairments may remain open.
