The Maharashtra government said that primary schools from Class I will reopen from December 1. While most of the state board affiliated schools seemed happy with this decision and are now preparing to reopen, the schools under other boards are not very happy with the timing of this decision as the board examinations for class X and XII The first class of is currently going on. CBSE and ICSE students. The announcement drew mixed reactions from the principals and various school managements.
The principal of Hutchings High School said the school could not open until after the Christmas holidays. Due to covid norms, we need more than 15 to 20 classes to accommodate a batch of students for exams as we have to follow social distancing.
At present, the first examination of class XII Standard is going on and the examination of class X will start soon and will continue till December 20. Soon after, we will have our Christmas holidays. So, it will not be possible to reopen the school for primary classes right now as it will require a lot of planning.
Principal of SNBP School, R. J. Venkataraman – Primary students will be asked to attend school for co-curricular initially. I had planned to invite young students for some poetry, drama and sporting events. Since the kids have been away from school for so long, we were planning this as an ice-breaker session and also to give them some normalcy.
The Govt. has Allowed us to Start Classroom Teaching:
We will have these cultural activities and then plan to start primary school in a phased manner.
Principals also pointed out that since the children are young and have not been vaccinated, a decision can be taken only after parental consent and the percentage of parents who do so.
Now, the government has given us permission to start class teaching, but with the first examination of class X and XII, it will not be possible for us to do so till December.
Meanwhile, several SSC and non-state board schools are also gearing up to resume classes. D. Joshi, Principal of Sanskrit School, said that since the announcement was made just a day back, a parent-teacher meeting would be held in the coming days. After that, consent forms will be shared with the parents and only then we will know how many parents are willing to send their children to school.
It is Mandatory for all the Students Coming to School to Wear Face Mask:
Students will be allowed to attend classes only if authorized in writing by their parents. It will be mandatory for all students coming to school to wear face masks and those whose families are infected with CORONA-19 will be advised to continue studies from home.
The entire premises including laboratories, corridors and stairs are being disinfected and signage has been put up to facilitate adherence to social distancing norms. Campus personnel will be required to wear face masks on the school premises and regular temperature checks will be done for students and staff. We will continue to conduct online classes for those students who do not like to attend physical classes.
