Delhi Schools Prepare To Re-Open From September 1 After A Long Hiatus Due To COVID-19 Pandemic

New Delhi: Delhi is preparing to re-open physical classes from Wednesday (September 1) and schools here are gearing up to welcome students after nearly six months after educational intuitions were shut down due to a spike in COVID cases in the national capital. Schools in the metropolis are set to open with all COVID-19 protocols in place and according to Standard Operating Procedures issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). Academic Head of Vidya Bal Bhawan, Nishant Sharma said, “Our school has set up a Covid isolation room with oxygen concentrators and medical team for students. For emergency cases, the school has also tied up with nearby hospitals so that the students can get proper treatment on time.”

Also Read: COVID-19: Guidelines Issued For Reopening Of Schools, Colleges, Coaching Centres From September 1 In Delhi

Regular temperature check will be done of the students, even before dropping them to home via school transportation, he added.

Further, he said the school will send consent form to parents via virtual meeting, seeking permission for sending their wards to school. However, he said that only 50 per cent of students will be allowed into the school, as per government guidelines. After receiving consent from parents, the school is set to reopen in a phased manner. The official further said that only fully vaccinated staff members will be permitted to attend school and physical classes.

If any staff member has not yet been fully vaccinated then, he or she will not be allowed to attend the physical classes till they get themselves vaccinated.

In addition, he said students or staff members who reside in containment zones won’t be allowed entry till the situation in their area normalises. Vice-Principal of Mayur Vihar’s Government Girls Secondary School, Sandhya Singh said,

Only 15 to 20 students would be permitted in one classroom to ensure social distancing. As the strength of students in class 9 and 10 is high in the school, so we have divided students into groups and they will be allowed to attend offline classes on alternate days.

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In order to avoid gatherings during lunch breaks, the school has allotted different times for lunch to every classroom. In addition, there will be an hour gap between the morning and evening shifts and students will not be allowed to exit the school in one go but have to disperse one by one, she informed.

Apart from maintaining social distancing, we also have an isolation room with all the basic medical facilities. In case of emergency, students can be taken to a nearby hospital i.e., Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital for the proper medical treatment, the vice-principal added.

Also Read: New Variant (C.1.2) Of Coronavirus May Be More Infectious, Evade Vaccines: Study

According to a recent DDMA order, colleges, universities and coaching institutes along with schools in Delhi were allowed to reopen in a phased manner and following certain Standard Operating Protocols (SOPs) from September 1. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio announcing the decision had said that schools will follow a “blended mode” of online and offline classes to ensure that those who are at home do not miss out on their studies.

Mr Sisodia had said that no student will be forced to come to schools and that consent of parents will be mandatory for children to return to schools and if they don’t allow, students won’t be forced or considered absent. After the first wave of COVID-19 hit the country in March last year, schools had reopened for classes 9 to 11 in Delhi on February 5, 2021, but they were again shut on April 9 after COVID-19 cases rose in the second wave of the pandemic.

Also Read: COVID-19: All You Need To Know About Delhi Government’s Back-To-School Guidelines

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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