Schools to reopen for Std V-VIII students from Jan 27

Nagpur: In view of the good response to reopening of high school and junior colleges, state education department has decided to allow students of Std V — VIII back on campus as well. School education minister Varsha Gaikwad told TOI that from January 27 all eligible students will be permitted to attend physical classes while following applicable safety guidelines.
“We reopened Std IX-XII in the first phase and the attendance numbers have been rising sharply.In view of this, we sought permission from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to reopen Std V-VIII, and today permission has been granted,” said Gaikwad.
An official order for this will be issued soon. “The official order shall include all details about safety guidelines to be followed. Teachers will have to undergo RT-PCR tests and school buildings will have to be sanitized as well,” said Gaikwad.
This phase-wise reopening was expected, as subtle hints had been dropped by sources in the education department. The overwhelming response of Std IX-XII students had buoyed the confidence of officials. From just around 3 lakh students back on campus on reopening day in November, the attendance figure is now nearing 20 lakh.
Education officials in Nagpur said it’s a welcome decision but did not wish to speak ‘on record’ till a GR is issued. A senior education official said, “We have always been advocating reopening of schools. People fail to understand that majority of students do not have access to online teaching. It’s only the well-off, urban families, who have a problem with reopening, because they can access everything from their home. I am extremely happy that the government has thought about the silent majority of students and not the minority, who just happen to be vocal.”
Attendance will not be mandatory even after schools reopen, and parents can opt to keep their children out. Every parent has the right to continue with online teaching, and cannot be forced to send their child for physical classes.
INFORMATION GFX
Timeline
Nov 23: Day 1 of reopening for Std IX-XII. Except for Nagpur district, schools in Vidarbha reopened
Dec 14: Schools in rural Nagpur reopen
Jan 4: Schools in Nagpur city reopen
Jan 27: Proposed date for reopening Std V-VIII
Safety guidelines & reopening norms
Reopening of school is not mandatory
Students can attend only after parents given written consent
Parents have right to refuse consent and continue with online classes
RT-PCR test mandatory for teachers, not students
ATTENDANCE NUMBERS
Number of schools (Std V-VIII): 1,06,491
Students in Std V: 19,98,966
Students in Std VI: 19,74,024
Students in Std VII: 19,50,828
Students in Std VIII: 19,23,192
(Source: State education department; Data updated for 2019-20 academic session)