While there is no clarity on when schools will reopen, NCERT is working on a post-lockdown plan for schools, which will involve a number of social distancing measures.
New Delhi: No morning assembly, no seminars and no sports events, this is how schools across the country are likely to function once they reopen post the Covid-19 lockdown.
Schools and colleges across the country have been closed since the second week of March and while there is no clarity on when they will reopen, the Modi government has begun working on a plan that will be put in place once students are back in classrooms, ThePrint has learnt.
According to senior officials in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been tasked with developing a post-lockdown plan for schools.
Confirming the development, NCERT Director Hrushikesh Senapathy said, “MHRD has tasked NCERT with formulating guidelines for schools, which are being worked on. This will include directions for various stakeholders including school management, teachers, parents and students.”
No social activities for a year
According to sources, some of the guidelines that are being worked out include banning social activities such as seminars, sports events and even assembly gatherings for upto a year. The safety guidelines will be made available to schools before the government decides to order their re-opening.
“There are a number of things that we will have to look at … how to maintain distance between students in school buses, while they are sitting in the classrooms and even when they are using the washroom, because a large number of students use a single washroom in schools,” a source told ThePrint.
