Remote taluka in Gadchiroli working on school reopening plan

Nagpur: Following state government’s June 15 guidelines for school reopening, a remote taluka in naxalite-affected Gadchiroli district is aggressively exploring options to implement it.
With no Covid-19 cases in the Bhamragarh taluka, officials here are holding detailed discussions with stakeholders on how to physically reopen schools. And with an average of just 25 students in the entire school, maintaining distance may not be a very big challenge.
Gadchiroli district collector Deepak Singla issued an order which directed officials to ensure physical reopening of schools only after complying with the state government guidelines. These guidelines basically state that the area should not have had even a single case in the last 30 days, premises must be sanitized, and that the actual school reopening decision has to be taken by the school management committee (SMC) etc. The SMC comprises of parents and the school staff.
Ashwini Sonawane, education official in charge of Bhamragarh taluka, said a final decision could be taken as early as next week. “As per the government’s order, we started organizing meetings of SMCs to understand what parents feel about the reopening. Our team is also visiting various villages in our area to talk with all parents and clarify their doubts about the Covid-19 situation. I think in another 10 days we will have a concrete plan,” said Sonawane.
She added that there are no Covid-19 patients in her taluka. “Not even a single case has been detected here. In fact, all the cases in other parts of Gadchiroli are those who came from outside,” said Sonawane.
As of now, studies at village level are being conducted in small groups by volunteers and teachers, but that is not part of the “formal schooling” plan.
Local Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) coordinator Changdeo Sorte said the pre-school opening tasks have already begun. “Schools have started book distribution to students, which ensures that their education can continue. Before joining school, students and teachers will have to produce medical certificates too,” said Sorte.
In Bhamragarh, there are 92 zilla parishad schools with approximately 2500 students. The ZP schools here offer education up to till Std VII.