Mumbai schools to start offline classes with pre-Covid timings and full capacity from March 2

Amid dip in the daily COVID-19 cases, the schools of all boards and mediums in Mumbai from pre-primary to 12th standard will function offline from March 2 as per the pre-Covid timings and with full attendance in classes. The schools for special students and Divyang students will also function full-time and with full capacity from March 2.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued detailed guidelines after the Tourism Minister and Mumbai Suburban District Guardian Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Friday held a meeting with BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal.

According to the guidelines, the schools will have to check the temperature of students at the time of entry, 100% attendance and vaccination of teaching and non-teaching staff is mandatory. Besides, the schools will conduct curricular & extra-curricular activities including sports, physical training.

It will be mandatory to wear masks in classes, school buses and school vans while it has been exempted during sports and physical training. There will be recess as per pre-Covid timetable and students will be allowed to eat food.

Schools can organize special camps for the completion of vaccination of students from age 15 and above after the consent of parents and in coordination with the administrative officers (schools), health officers and divisional assistant commissioners.

It will be mandatory to have parents’ consent for sending their children to schools who are detected with co-morbidities and chronic diseases. Further, parents should not send their children to schools if they are suffering from fever, cough and cold. Students will be allowed to commute in private and BEST buses to reach schools.

Earlier, Aaditya tweeted "This afternoon, I held a meeting for schools in Mumbai to resume from March, with pre- covid timings, attendance, curricular & extra-curricular activities, school buses, apart from certain essential covid appropriate norms, as cases steadily decline in Mumbai. The schools also will be encouraged to organize vaccination camps for students from age 15 and up, on campus, with @mybmc @mybmcedu and doctors, with the consent of parents, to ensure vaccination rates and protection for students eligible for the covid vaccine," he said.

School Leaders Network Director Francis Joseph said it is so important to normalize teaching and learning in our schools. ‘’We have to slowly and surely move on with Covid precautions, but not restrict students from learning together in a classroom. Staggered timing does not help as children are missing their ‘’daily’’ school. I thank Aaditya Thackeray and BMC for thinking forward for our students in Mumbai,’’ he noted.

On the other hand, Pediatric Task Force member Dr Samir Dalwai said that the schools should run comprehensively. ‘’We have innovated enough and unfortunately stakeholders are more confused than ever. We need to start full-fledged schools to fully understand how much educational assimilation and achievements has happened for each student so we can plan the exact way ahead.’’ He added that the support systems for schooling should be given due attention.

Published on: Friday, February 25, 2022, 10:12 PM IST