Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday, in a video conference meeting with the Minister of School Education Department Varsha Gaikwad, has agreed upon starting the academic year for students through digital and online platforms on a pilot project basis, said CMO. "He has also agreed upon reopening schools in areas away from the cities that are COVID-19 free after taking adequate precautionary measures," CMO added.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Government has laid out a plan for starting the schools physically. According to a Government notification, classes for Std 9th, 10th and 12th will open in July, Std 6th to 8th will start in August and Std 3rd to 5th will begin from September. Starting Std 11th will depend on the results of Std 10th and the admission process thereafter, the notification said. However, the opening of the schools will only be in places where no COVID-19 case has been reported for at least a month.
Regarding the online education, the notification said that the virtual classes should be for a maximum of one hour for Std 3rd to 5th, two hours for Std 6th to 8th and three hours for Std 9th to 12th. There will be no online education for students up to Std 2nd, said the notification. It also added that the mental and physical stability of the students must be taken into account and breaks should be given within the session.
The State Government has also released a list of Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) to be followed while physical opening of schools. According to it, the schools should be divided into two shifts and one shift should be not more than three hours.
Only one student should sit on a bench or maximum 20-30 students must be in a classroom. The distance between the two benches must be 1 metre, the SOPs read. The school management must also see to it that there cannot be any crowding in school buses or vans, it added.
In the notification, the Government has urged parents to send their wards to school with face masks, water bottles and handkerchiefs. The parents must also cultivate a habit in their children to wash hands with soap and not touch their face, the notification read.
