UP schools to function normally with Covid-19 protocol from March 1

PRAYAGRAJ, February 6 (HS): Come February 10, and schools across UP will again abuzz with activities. Yes, you have heard it, right! Nearly a year after the rampaging covid-19 enforced their closure, schools in UP are all set to start function normally from March 1. According to a government order issued by additional chief secretary (basic education) Renuka Kumar, a copy of which is with HS, both government and private schools for classes 6 to 8 will restart from February 10 while for primary students, classes will re-begin from March 1.

The most significant part of the order directs no-holds-barred approach in implementing covid-19 safety norms and strictly suggests sanitisation of classes to take place after every shift. As per government records, 1.8 crore children are enrolled in 1.5 lakh primary and upper primary schools while close to 2 crore are admitted in private schools across the state. The government has already allowed classes 9 to 12 from October 19 last year.

Officials while speaking to HS claimed that safety of students would be ensured as classes would be sanitized before the schools reopen and regular sanitation would take place after every shift. Schools will have to ensure arrangements for thermal scanning, masks, social distancing and first aid before students walk in. The lockdown caused a massive blow to the education sector. Students were not only deprived of basic classroom learning but also failed to be a part of co-curricular and recreational activities.

To bring back the academic session on track, the government has decided to reopen schools as well as higher educational institutions in a proper way. “After receiving the approval from the chief minister’s office, the education department is finalising SOPs which will be announced on Monday. “We are working on intricacies like the number of shifts to be conducted and students to be permitted on one day,” said director general, school education, Vijay Kiran Anand during a free-wheeling chat with HS.