PANAJI: The state’s Covid-19 expert committee on Monday decided to recommend to the government to reopen schools for Classes IX and X, as well as higher secondary schools.
However, it said that a plan of action in the form of appropriate SOPs would have to be drawn up by the government before deciding on the reopening. Schools, too, would have to be given time to prepare, committee member Shekhar Salkar said.
“The expert committee felt that the task force can decide when schools should be opened. The schools will need to be given time to work out a seating arrangement,” Salkar said.
The members felt that lower classes should not be opened. “However, parents can decide if they want their children to attend classes online. The option should be given to them. All SOPs will have to be developed by the government, the expert committee can’t do it as we don’t know the structure of the schools,” he said.
He said after around 15 days or during Diwali, the committee would assess how the arrangement is working, and then a decision could be made about opening lower classes. The discussion during the meeting was limited to opening to schools.
