Delhi schools to reopen in phased manner from 1st September Details here

 

Parents Divided Amid Concerns Around Imminent Third Covid Wave

While few believe its high time the schools are reopened as the learning loss is huge, others feel there is no harm in waiting for few more weeks or a month as experts have been warning of a possible third wave.

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• Offline classes for students of standard 9 to 12 will start from 1 September in Delhi 
• Classes for 6 to 8 standards will begin on 8 September

Students in Delhi will return to schools in a phased manner in September. 

As per a government notification, offline classes for students of standard 9 to 12 will start from 1 September. Following this, classes for 6 to 8 standards will begin on 8 September. 

The decision comes days after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Delhi government wanted schools to be reopened as soon as possible but is evaluating all factors to ensure the safety of students.

"There has been a mixed experience of states which have reopened schools. We have been monitoring the situation," the Delhi CM had said.

"We want the schools to be reopened as soon as possible but don't want to take any risk with the safety of students. We will make a decision soon," he had said.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), in a report submitted earlier this week, recommended that schools are reopened for all classes but senior-wing students are called in the first phase followed by middle-class students and ultimately the primary classes.

Noting that there is no harm now in reopening schools in the national capital, Lieutenant Governor Baijal had on 6 August had asked officials to set up an expert committee to chalk out a detailed plan.

The Delhi government had recently announced the partial reopening of schools and allowed class10 and 12 students to visit schools for admission-related work, practical activities and counselling sessions.

Covid situation in Delhi 

The DDMA's suggestion came in the wake of a marked improvement in the Covid-19 situation in Delhi, following a raging second wave.

"Apart from learning loss, they are suffering from a lack of social skills. There is also an increase in the impact on their academic skill set, mental health and emotional well-being too," he said.

"However, there are critics who are concerned about the imminent third wave coming in and the reopening of schools. Therefore, to ensure utmost safety of the students, schools need to take bold decisions about reopening with strict protocols in place," he added.

In its report submitted on Wednesday, the DDMA panel recommended that students from senior classes be called in the first phase followed by the middle-grade students and ultimately the primary classes. The committee has also said that willing parents should have the option of sending their child to school and others can opt for online classes.

Schools in the national capital were ordered shut last year in March ahead of a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. While several states started partial reopening of schools in October last year, the Delhi government allowed physical classes only for grades 9-12 in January this year, which were again suspended following the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases during the aggressive second wave. Currently, students of classes 10, 11 and 12 can visit schools with the consent of parents for admission and board exam-related activities.

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