Chandigarh, January 29:
Punjab School Education Minister Mr. Vijay Inder Singla, on Friday, said that following the conditional approval of the state government, all government, aided and private schools were set to reopen for class 1 and 2 and pre-primary classes from February 1. The cabinet minister informed that as the parents firmly supported the decisions of CM Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab government on reopening of schools; he has also directed the education department officials and school management to strictly comply with the safety guidelines issued by the government regarding Covid-19. He added that the detailed safety guidelines have also been sent to the schools for strict compliance.
Mr. Vijay Inder Singla said that as the students of pre-primary classes are smaller kids, the department officials and managements have been directed to remain more attentive to them than elder students to ensure their safety. He said that the schools have been asked to prepare special seating plan keeping physical distancing in mind apart from compliance of other safeguards including masks and handwash on regular intervals.
Mr. Singla said that schools for higher classes from class 3 to 12 have already been reopened in phased manner and checking teams have regularly been visiting schools randomly for the observance of safety norms and guidelines. He added that they have been asked to sensitise the school principal regarding do’s and don’ts regarding Covid-19 pandemic. He said that principals and school teachers have also been directed to reach out to the parents through various means of communication including public address systems to make them aware of safety norms. He also advised the students that apart from going daily to schools, they should avoid visiting other places during free time.
The school education minister said that the schools would be functioning fully from morning 10 to 3 pm after the interval of almost 10 months but during the lockdown, the department officials, schools heads and teachers had worked hard to reach out the students for their education through online mediums including mobile apps and TV. He added that despite several odds, they succeeded in their mission which saved precious time for students and now final revision would be done in the classrooms. He said that now they will again be the torch bearers of the society to make the parents and guardians aware of the Covid-19 safety norms.
