School Reopening: Tamil Nadu Schools To Reopen On Jan 19 After 10 Long Months; Check Details

Tamil Nadu has decided to reopen schools for Class 10 and 12 from Jan 19. After the IIT Madras incident, the government had thought about opening school after Pongal but changed post asking parents and school authorities.

Photo Courtesy: File (Representative Image)

New Delhi: Tamil Nadu is opening schools for Class 10^th and 12^th students on January 19 after remaining closed for 10 months due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Hostels are also permitted to open for students who will be attending classes.  The TN government said it’ll distribute zinc and vitamin tablets to the students at school to boost their immunity. Several schools had asked to reopen school before the annual exams to help them at least do a final revision and clear any doubts. The Tamil Nadu government has issued SOPs and guidelines which have to be followed by the school authorities and students, these include

• Following regular and proper sanitization has been made mandatory.
• Students and staff are supposed to maintain social distancing.
• Students who choose to continue with online classes may do so and the school will have to provide online material to the students.
• Extra-curricular activities where physical distancing is not possible should be avoided.
• In a class, not more than 25 students will be allowed in.

The government said in December that it had plans to open the schools after Pongal. Following the incident at IIT Madras, when around sixty-six students in IIT-Madras tested positive for Covid-19 from December 1 till Sunday, December 13. According to a tweet by ANI, IIT M has said in a statement, that the institute began doing Covid tests after symptomatic cases were reported from students residing in hostels. The academic institute is currently functioning in a limited capacity. On Monday, schools in Gujarat open for the first time since the lockdown last year for classes 10th and 12th. Schools reopened after mandatory compliance of Covid-19 prevention standard operating procedures (SOPs) and consent of parents.