After episodes of deliberation, the Tamil Nadu government has on Wednesday taken a final call over the resumption of schools for secondary and higher secondary students. Issuing a message for these students to get ready to attend the schools after over a year of being detached from the physical classes and confined in the home in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the state government has signalled that the schools in the state will be allowed to reopen for classes 9 to 12 from September 1.
As the Covid-19 threat hasn't been fully mitigated, the government has released a slew of guidelines to the schools that need to be followed during functioning. The government has brought in certain changes to a typical system of schooling to ensure that the resumption won't turn heads towards distressing events. Though the resumption would be a major leap to a pre-Covid world, the students, who are going to step inside their classrooms after 18 months, will find unprecedented changes done in the system.
According to reports, while the school education department is yet to officially announce the date for school reopening, the directorate of public health has on Wednesday issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to its district health authorities that need to be followed after the resumption of schools. The state government's health body had also instructed the authorities to keep the private and government schools ready for reopening from September 1. As per the safety guidelines, the school management has been directed to ensure that sanitiser and soap are made available on the premises.
The management has also been directed to stay vigil that the students and staffers are adhering to the Covid-19 safety protocols and they should wear masks during the schooling hours. By allowing the management to conduct school assemblies in the respective classrooms or open spaces, the state government has strictly banned all sorts of functions or congregations in the school premises. The government has also instructed the schools to conduct parent-teacher meetings not at the premises but online. With the view of curbing the Covid-19 spread at the schools, the government has suggested that the schools can consider having 50% of students attending physical classes based on the strength and reducing the class timings.
The state health department has directed the schools to ensure six -feet of distance has been observed between the seating arrangements for students and staff members. As per the SOPs, the government has said that only one student can be seated per bench and the schools have to maintain physical distancing in staff rooms, office rooms, and other places of interaction. The government has also recommended the schools take classes outdoors to evade overcrowding in the classrooms. The SOPs further asked the schools to make adequate arrangements for disinfecting the classrooms, furniture, and public areas inside the premises at regular intervals.
The state government has said that the employees who are at higher risk including older employees, pregnant employees, and employees who are suffering from existing ailments, should take more precautions and the government has said that the students and staff members living in the containment zones will not be allowed to attend school and all staff and eligible students must be fully vaccinated before attending physical classes. The health department has tasked its officials to regularly check whether the schools are following the Covid-19 SOPs and safety guidelines.
The order says that all the Primary Health Centres (PHC) should be alerted to handle any suspected symptomatic students and a sufficient quantity of Vitamin C, Multivitamin tablets, and other immuno-boosters should be given to the students. The government has suggested the schools conduct two shifts in case of high enrolment of students and these shifts can be conducted by reducing time duration of school hours. The schools should not allow any sorts of unnecessary gatherings among the students and besides these guidelines, students from classes 9 to 12, teachers, and staff members across the state will have to undergo health screening over the next one week,
Speaking to a news agency, Director of Public Health Dr TS Selvavinayagam has said that schools may need time to get prepared for this new normal and they have to set up facilities for hand washing and make plans to follow social distancing norms. He further said that the health department wants the students to undergo thermal screening even before they enter schools. The private schools can take help from the PHCs nearby for thermal screening and the schools should also have a record of children who have existing comorbidities.
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