Delhi is planning on taking a risk that the rest of India is not too happy about. What is this risk one may want to ask, well it’s the fact that they will open the schools in Delhi is 2 parts from the 1st of September.
Schools, colleges and other educational institutes in the Capital can resume physical classes in a phased manner from September 1, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said after a decision taken by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on account of a marked improvement in the Covid-19 situation in the city.
Delhi added 46 fresh Covid-19 cases and no additional deaths, according to data from the state government’s daily health bulletin, recording a positivity rate of 0.06%. This number has been below 1% for 89 days, and below 5% for 99 days. The city has added a daily average of 32 cases over the past seven days, and has only 412active cases.
Sisodia, also the state education minister stated “The kind of education that can be imparted through physical classes can never be substituted by online classes. So we have decided to allow schools to open, From September 1, all government schools will open for classes 9 to 12, all private schools can also resume classes for 9 to 12 standards. Coaching centres can also start classes for students of 9 to 12 standards,”
While Sisodia said the government will observe the situation for a week before resuming junior classes, a senior DDMA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the authority has approved classes 6 to 8 to restart from September 8. No decision has been taken on reopening junior classes yet, he added.
Soon after the announcement, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “In view of decreasing Covid cases, schools are being slowly reopened in Delhi with complete precautions, so that the learning loss for students can be reduced. We have to bring back life on track and take care of studies as well as health of students.”
The government, however, stressed that parents will be forced to send children to school, and online classes will continue for those who opt for them. “No child will be forced to attend physical classes and there will be no compulsory attendance. Consent of the parents will be must for students to attend physical classes,” Sisodia said.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for schools will be issued in the next few days, he said.
