Punjab School Reopening News: Schools for 9th to 12th Class Students Likely To Reopen from 15th October, Guidelines, SOPs Issued

Punjab School Reopening News: After a gap of nearly 6 months, Schools in Punjab are all likely to reopen their gates to invite students of class 9 to 12 for face-to-face classes from 15th October 2020 in a graded manner. The state government has issued guidelines for School Reopening in Punjab and allowed partial 3-hour classes each day as part of the SOPs. The guidelines to reopen school in the state have been by the Education Department in line with the Unlock 5.0 Guidelines issued by the Home Ministry that allowed for reopening of schools from 15^th October 2020.

Final Decision by CM Amarinder Singh

However, media reports have informed thatPunjab School Education Minister Mr. Vijay Inder Singla, on Wednesday, clarified that their Government has not taken any decision yet regarding the opening of the schools in the state. He added that the education department has given its suggestions to the home department. He also added that final decision regarding reopening of schools will be taken by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh after reviewing all precautions regarding safety of students.

Guidelines, SOPs for School Reopening

Along with its decision to allow reopening of schools in the state, the state government has also issued the necessary guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures providing the necessary information for the same. The advisory for reopening of schools for students in Class 9 and above classes was issued by Secretary, School Education Department, Punjab Government on 7^th October 2020. The key highlights from the advisory are listed below:

• Schools will be opened for only 3 hours per day only
• Only Students of Class 9 to 12 will be allowed to attend school initially
• Only 20 students from each section will be allowed to attend classes at a time
• Adherence to safety measures including social distancing, personal hygiene, wearing of masks, and sanitization is mandatory
• No Two Students are allowed to sit on the same bench
• Adequate distance to be maintained between two benches
• Teachers may be called in 2 shifts of 3 hours each

School Reopening Across India

After remaining closed for nearly 6 months, schools across the country have been permitted to open from 15^th October 2020 in a graded manner under the recently released Unlock 5.0 Guidelines. While in principal approval has been given to reopening of the schools by the Central Government, the final decision is left to the state government. Despite the permission the Home Ministry, several state governments are not looking forward to reopening of schools in favour of students’ safety. Maharashtra and Karnataka state governments have announced that they will not be reopening schools yet.