More than half the States and Union Territories, including COVID-19 hotspots Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, have not yet decided on a date for reopening schools, the Centre was told at a meeting this week.
The remaining States are split between those willing to reopen in August, which includes Delhi and Bihar, and others who will not open until September, such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.
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The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has also asked the States to gauge parents’ opinions on the issue and submit it by Monday, offering options of reopening in August, September or October.
All educational institutions have been shut since mid-March due to the pandemic, leaving 25 crore children across the country out of school. In many States, some form of distance education has restarted, using online resources as well as television and radio programmes.
The HRD Ministry held a videoconference with State representatives on July 15 to discuss the School Safety Plan.
The responses were compiled by the Ministry into a document, which The Hindu has reviewed.
Assam was the only State willing to open at the end of July.
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Of the 36 States and UTs, at least 21 said they had not taken a decision yet, with five of those adding that they were awaiting guidance from the Centre. With the spread of the pandemic still uncertain, most States were not willing to commit to any reopening date, including the two States with the highest number of cases, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
On the other hand, Delhi, which has the third highest number of cases, said it would like to open schools “preferably in August”, according to the Ministry document. The capital has dropped to sixth place in active cases.
COVID-19: Schools re-opening graphic
Bihar, Chandigarh and Haryana are also willing to reopen around Independence Day, while Puducherry says it will take a decision after July 31.
The rest of the States are pitching for a date in September or beyond.
Andhra Pradesh has set a tentative date of September 5. Manipur says it will open on September 1. Nagaland is also opting for the first week of September, while Rajasthan says “probably in September”. Odisha did not commit to a reopening date, merely saying its schools were closed until August 31, while Kerala, Ladakh and Karnataka said they will reopen after the end of August.
In a letter sent to State education secretaries after the meeting on July 17, the HRD Ministry has asked for feedback from parents of school going children to be collected over the weekend, and submitted July 20. “What is the likely period when they will be comfortable with reopening of schools — August/September/October 2020,” asked the letter, which also has been seen by The Hindu. “What are the parents expectations from schools as and when they reopen,” the Ministry sought to know.
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The HRD Ministry is in the process of developing guidelines for schools, whenever they reopen, with final approval still required from the Health and Home Ministries. The guidelines are likely to recommend staggered attendance, allowing for blended learning in classrooms and at home via technology, along with rigorous health screening, sanitation and quarantine protocols.
