SOPs on school reopening: Do I need to attend classes everyday, are bags banned and other questions answered

The Ministry of Education has issued detailed guidelines about the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that will have to be followed in schools once physical classes resume amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Under the latest unlock guidelines, schools and coaching institutes in India will be allowed to reopen in a phased manner from October 15. States and union territories have been given a free hand to decide whether to reopen schools and coaching institutes.

However, detailed guidelines have now been framed which will be applicable once the schools decide to reopen from October 15 onwards. These include the duration of the classes; what activities are allowed and how social distancing will be maintained.

Moneycontrol attempts to simplify the guidelines for the students.

While the central government has allowed phased reopening of schools from October 15, ultimately the state governments will decide. So individual states could decide to keep schools shut. Delhi government, for instance, has decided that schools in the union territory will stay shut till October 31.

Parents and guardians of each child will have to give written consent for a student to be allowed into schools from October 15. The attendance system will not be enforced and the regular awards for 100 percent attendance will not be presented this year.

Wherever schools are conducting online classes and if some students prefer to attend online classes rather than physically attend school, they will be permitted to do so.

No. Social distancing will be maintained at all times inside classrooms in schools. There will be six-feet distance between two students. There will clear markings inside the classroom as to which are the spaces a student can occupy.

Education ministry has said that if there are single-seater desks, simply providing space between the desks in the classrooms to maintain physical/social distancing of 6 feet will be effective. If benches are used, only one child will be allowed on one bench.

All students will not be allowed to attend school at the same time. Education ministry has said that an odd-even system could be considered for attending schools. This means some students will be allowed on odd number days while others will be allowed on even number days.

There could also be two shifts in case a particular school has a large batch size.

For hostels inside schools, temporary partitions will be erected to separate the boarders.

Not all hostel students will be allowed to come back at the same time. Initial preference for calling students to join back hostels may be given to students who do not have any support at home and also no facility for online education. Only asymptomatic students will be allowed to come back.

Schools will have to keep supply of face masks, gloves and hand sanitisers. Younger children will be monitored to ensure that they do not exchange their masks with others. School bag for students of lower primary classes (I to V) would be discouraged and learning material will be kept in the classroom.

Thermal screening of students will be done at the time of entry into the school and school bus (if any). Curtains will be removed from windows. As far as possible, parents of students from classes I to V will be be encouraged to drop and pick up their children.

You won't be allowed to share your tiffin, textbooks, notebooks, pen, pencil, eraser, tiffin box, water bottles, with other students.

If your school is air conditioned, the temperature setting will be in the range of 24-30°C.

Group activities in games, sports, music, dance or other performing art classes will be be allowed only if it is feasible to maintain physical distance and following health safety norms.

So if your school does not have a proper playground, sports activities will be cancelled.

If someone suddenly falls ill inside school, he/she will be placed in isolation. The student/staff member will be immediately taken to a health facility. On inspection, a doctor can recommend a COVID-19 test if required. If a hostel resident has symptoms, they will not be sent home as this could lead to spread of disease.

Such suspect cases will be isolated and sent for follow-up medical treatments.

The mid-day meal (MDM) scheme will continue in schools. It is just that the cleaning and disinfection of the cooking utensils will have to be done at regular intervals.

The serving and dining area should has to be well sanitized before and after food consumption. Children will served MDM in batches or in their particular class rooms. Those serving meals have to wear masks, gloves and face cover while distribution.

The formats for periodic tests, mid-term and final exams will be designed as per the demand of the situation and keeping in view number of days and adjusted curriculum.

So it has been said that schools should not plan any assessment of student learning in the first two-three weeks of reopening of schools in order to ensure emotional well-being of the students.

Schools can, instead, have assessments in the form of role plays, choreography, class quiz, puzzles and games, brochure designing, presentations, journals, portfolios, over routine pen-paper testing.

Overall, the idea is to encourage online learning as much as possible and only invite students to schools in case there is no IT infrastructure to study at home.