In the face of rising graph of COVID-19 positive cases, which has crossed the 6000-mark in Bihar, and a large number of school buildings converted into quarantine centres, the state government is treading cautiously and not in any hurry to open schools and colleges too soon.
A senior official of the education department said that the government was waiting for the guidelines from the ministry of human resource development regarding opening of schools.
“Last week, minister for HRD Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ had also done video conferencing to discuss the situation and way ahead. Some suggestions regarding staggered classes, handwashing etc, emerged, but there is nothing final. With the students already promoted to the next class, may be the process will gradually begin by initiating the admission process,” he added.
For any activity to start in sschools and colleges, it would require thorough sanitization of the campuses after quarantine centres are closed mid-June.
Governor-cum-Chancellor Phagu Chouhan has also directed vice chancellors to coordinate with the concerned district administrations for through sanitization of campuses before starting classes or conducting examinations. He also suggested that a study team be made for learning good practices for online education from better equipped universities in other states.
Regarding schools, the Bihar commission for protection of child rights has also issued a detailed advisory for the safety of children in the wake of talks about opening institutions. It has also called for sanitization of campuses and adequate arrangement of water for drinking and frequent hand wash.
“The seating arrangement should be such that six-feet distance between students should be maintained in the class. There should be hygienic toilets, with cleaning at regular intervals. Uniform should not be made compulsory so that students could come in clean clothes. The schools can be run in two shifts and there should be screening at the entrance gate,” said the advisory.
There is advisory also for the parents. The parents have to make sure that students suffering from any ailment don’t attend school. The students must wear masks and gloves and carry sanitizers. The commission has sent the advisory to the department of education also.
With the situation far from conducive to open schools at this stage, Bihar education minister Krishna Nandan Verma, too, said that the department had sought opinion from guardians, students and those associated with institutions and most of them were not in favour of opening institutions.
“We will review the situation in the last week of June to take a call when schools and colleges could be opened in the state. For us the safety of students is of paramount importance,” he added.
