To open or not? Schools await guidelines before letting in teachers and students

BHOPAL: As the HRD ministry allows

schools

to call 50% of the staff and lets students enter the institutions to clear their doubts from September 21, schools of the city are gearing up to welcome the staff in a safe environment, taking all necessary precautions to minimize the risk of infection among teachers. Students have been advised to come only when absolutely necessary, with the consent of their parents.


Rajesh Sharma, principal of Bal Bhavan School, said that he and other school principals were waiting for the guidelines and standard operating procedure (SOP) from the state government and district administration before reopening the schools. Temperature checks will be mandatory in schools for both teachers and students before entering.

“We have made it very clear that the students need consent from their parents before coming to the school to clear their doubts. Only the students of higher classes, 9 to 12, will be allowed to come, that too with all necessary precautions. There will be no overcrowding or group sessions. If students have doubts, they can come alone, or may be two-three students at a time, but not more than that,” said Sharma.

Director IES, Manisha Kawathekar, said, “The school is already being sanitized regularly, and we will place sanitizers at the reception and in staff rooms. As only 50% of the staff will be called, and there are staff rooms at all floors, social distancing will not be a problem. Wearing masks will be mandatory, as per the guidelines of the district administration.”

She added that the school is already removing desks and chairs from the classes to maintain a six-foot distance between the students if they come to seek guidance from the teachers.

Principal of Sagar Public School, Pankaj Sharma, added that the school is planning to only call a small group of teachers on designated days to avoid overcrowding and that everyone entering the school premises will have to undergo temperature checks to avoid any risk.

“We are planning to make time-tables for each day so that only a few teachers have to come every day and students too can come to clear their doubts, if their parents allow. As the school campus is quite spacious, and studentteacher ratio will be far less than normal days, it will not be a problem to maintain social distancing. We will follow any other guidelines that the state government and district administration prescribe further,” said Sharma.

Schools are also waiting for the guidelines from the school education department and district administration before allowing the students and staff members back to school.