Kerala Schools Reopen Partially For Classes 10 And 12 With Strict Covid-19 Guidelines

After almost nine months, schools in Kerala have reopened partially for students in classes 10 and 12. Schools have to follow strict Covid-19 measures.

Representative Image (Getty)

New Delhi: After almost nine months, schools in Kerala open on Friday for class 10th and 12th students with limited hours and a restricted number of students. Students and teachers have to follow strict instructions to keep the virus from spreading. Strict instructions like wearing masks, washing hands at frequent intervals to mandatory social distancing gave a formal colour to their first day in schools when they reopened partially in Kerala on Friday. Classes for 10 and 12 standards began in schools across the southern state, as per the government’s instructions. "I am really excited to be back in my school, I have never thought that I can spend time with my friends at this campus again," said Akhila, a Class 10 student of a city school here told PTI. Parvathy, another student, said she was fed up attending online classes and she had really missed actual classroom studies. "Online class is a good option at this time of crisis. But, it cannot give the feel and positivity provided by an actual classroom. Not just schools and classrooms, I really missed my teachers and friends," she said. The General Education Department directed that only 50 percent of students be allowed at a time in schools and that classes be arranged as one student per bench in the first week. It is better to allow 25 percent of the students at a time in schools, where their strength exceeds 300 in number in classes 10 and 12, according to the guidelines issued by the Director of Public Instructions (DPI). As per the present plan, the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and Higher Secondary (Kerala HSC) second-year board exams would be held from March 17 to 30 in strict compliance with COVID protocols. An official statement said here that a total of 1.75 lakh new students have taken admission in classes 1 to 10 in state-run schools this academic year. Aside from Kerala; Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and some districts of Maharashtra have allowed class for 9th to 12th standards. Schools in Madhya Pradesh will commence for class 1st to 8th on April 1, 2021. The schools in Tripura had begun for classes 9 and 11 from December 28. The classes for students of 5th to 8th standards will resume from January 4. However, no decision has been taken for classes 1 to 4. The Bihar Education Department directed to restart offline lessons for students from classes 9 to 12 from January 4 with 50 percent capacity in classrooms.