No decision has yet been taken on allowing students of classes 9 to 12 to visit schools on voluntary basis for taking teachers’ guidance with parental consent, Minister for General Education C. Ravindranath has said.
The Minister told The Hindu on Sunday that the State was of the opinion that students should be allowed to visit schools only after the COVID-19 case graph stabilised (the State has registered over 4,000 cases for four consecutive days now).
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had earlier this month issued standard operation procedures for partial resumption of activities in schools from Monday.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had a week ago announced that schools would not reopen this month or the next for regular classes but in the wake of the SOPs, a policy decision on whether to allow students in restricted numbers was expected.
The Education Minister said with the number of COVID-19 cases increasing by the day, more thought would have to be given to students returning to school in consultation with the Health authorities. The case numbers were being closely monitored, and like in the case of SSLC and Plus Two examinations, a decision would be taken when the condition is condicive.
The Minister said fixing a date at this stage was not the way forward. He said if things took a turn for the worse, students would be afraid to go back to school. The peace of mind offered by online classes, which are under way, may be lost. Both students and parents should feel safe. Their health was the priority.
There was no reason to worry about academics as online classes were going on well, and over 65% of teachers were closely following the students’ progress, the Minister said.
Director of General Education Jeevan Babu K. had submitted directions to the government on possible steps that could be taken on the basis of feedback from field-level officers in the wake of the Centre’s SOP.
Meanwhile, the SSLC and Plus Two SAY/Improvement examinations are set to begin on Tuesday in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.
