Govt Plans Staggered Reopening of Schools As COVID Cases Decline, to Issue SOPs Soon: Report

School reopening News Today: As the coronavirus cases have come down to great extent, the media reports on Thursday claimed that the Central government is working on a model for staggered reopening of schools for physical classes following COVID protocols.Also Read – After Being Unconscious For 6 Months, Kerala Man In UAE Wakes Up To Make Miraculous Recovery From COVID

It must be noted that the schools have been closed in most parts of the country for physical classes after the emergence of the new Omicron variant of the virus. At this time, the students have been mostly attending online classes, barring some brief periods in between, for almost two years now due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also Read – BREAKING: Centre Extends Coronavirus Guidelines Till February 28, Asks States Not to Let Guard Down

“As parents have been demanding for the opening of schools, the union government is working on a model for staggered opening of schools following all Covid related protocols,” a source told News 18. Also Read – Omicron Not Result Of Recombination Between Previous Variants: Study

As per another report by India Today, the Union health ministry is likely to issue guidelines to states on reopening schools with Covid appropriate norms. “The government is working on some model to open the schools due to increasing demands by parents. The health ministry has already asked its expert team to look into all the options for opening schools,” the sources said.

The move comes as there has been an increased pressure on the Centre from parents and schools to reopen education facilities as the number of Covid-19 cases in India is on decline.

In the recent weeks, a few states and Union territories have announced reopening of schools for classes 10 to 12 with condition that students between the age group 15 to 18 can attend offline classes only if they had had at least one dose of vaccination.

In the meantime, the Home Ministry on Thursday announced that Covid containment measures have been extended till Feb 28.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi government said that the schools and colleges will continue to remain closed in the national capital and the issue will be taken up in the next meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).

During the meeting, the Delhi government, for its part recommended reopening of schools saying it was necessary to prevent further damage to the social and economic well-being of children as the COVID-19 situation in the capital has improved.

Asserting that online education can never replace classroom studies, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the government had closed schools when it was not safe for children, but excessive caution was harming them.