In a significant move amid being dressed up with the lockdown extensions and the predictions of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Tamil Nadu government has shown a signal that the physical classes will be resumed in the schools, that are shut down for over a year in the wake of the novel coronavirus. The pandemic spread has disrupted normal lives and confined the students to get settled for a new normal and to have a hold on their studies online. 

The schools were shut during the tenures of the first and second waves of the pandemic and the incessant stay away from the physical classes had pushed most of the students in raging stress from not being able to afford online classes to the lack of proper connectivity. The confinement in homes for months had also turned many students into a worker on the fields to help their family winning bread amid the lockdown. There was a barrage of requests from across the state in recent times to reopen the schools as long-time detachments from the schools could make them struggle more. 

Such requests were made aftermath the decline of the Covid-19 cases and on Friday, the state government has signaled a possible resumption of physical classes, not for every class, but only for the secondary and higher secondary students from Classes 9 to 12. Chief Minister MK Stalin has on Friday said that the government has planned to reopen the schools for Classes 9 to 12 from September 1. According to reports, the Chief Minister has arrived at a decision after reviewing the Covid-19 situation along with the health experts and government officials on Friday, while discussing the lockdown extension. 

In a statement on Friday, MK Stalin has said that the health experts had unanimously expressed their opinion that schools should reopen. On the front of why the experts want schools to be reopened in the state, the Chief Minister said that the experts are of assertions to reopen the schools by stating that children have been under depression since they continue to remain indoors and it has created a gap in the learning process among students.

The experts had also pointed out that a majority of students could not attend online classes due to network issues. If the government officially announces the resumption, how the schools will be functioning? The schools will be mandated to conduct classes only for students from Classes 9 to 12 with the Covid-19 guidelines. The Chief Minister further said, "Considering the opinion of various sections, it has been proposed to reopen the schools for classes 9, 10,11, and 12 with 50 per cent of students from September 1 by adhering to the Covid-19 standard operating procedure. 

Furthermore, the School Education Department has been instructed to undertake preliminary works towards the reopening of schools for these students. The Chief Minister has also announced that medical and nursing colleges and those offering related programmes would be allowed to resume classes from August 16. He added that the students and teachers in these colleges have been vaccinated. The reports say that the government will also direct the staffers and teachers of the schools to get a complete vaccination ahead of the resumption of the schools. 

It has been reported that the state government would receive inputs and opinions from various stakeholders including concerned officials, district administrations, teachers, and parents before making its proposal of reopening the schools official. On the other hand, the state government has also extended the ongoing lockdown till 6 am on August 23 with some fresh restrictions to avoid crowding in certain places. In view of reducing the crowds in public places, the Chief Minister has announced that worships in all religious places would not be allowed for the general public on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. 

The government has directed the local bodies to ensure that there is no crowding in meat and fish stalls by spreading them out in the open space. The Chief Minister had further pressed the shops and other establishments to supply hand sanitisers for customers and enforce the wearing of facemasks and social distancing norms. He said that action would be initiated against commercial and other establishments that breach the guidelines and permit more customers than the norm. 

He also had instructed the district collectors and local bodies to undertake micro-level Covid-19 containment activities in areas under their jurisdiction to avoid the spread of the pandemic. He said that the Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination-Covid-19 appropriate behaviour formula should be followed strictly. By reiterating that only essential services would be allowed in the containment zones, the Chief Minister has appealed to the general public to extend cooperation to measures being implemented by the state government to contain the pandemic spread.