The Centre government is yet to make any decision on reopening of schools. The government agency clarified this after reports of schools being closed till December started doing rounds. Schools have been closed since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic and according to the latest statement of the Education Minister, schools will be reopened after discussion with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Home Affairs, once the situation is conducive.

Several state governments including Assam, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa are considering reopening schools from September. But parents are not ready to send their children to schools just yet and most want a reduction in syllabus. Parents also a continuation of online classes.

Whenever the schools will reopen, it will be much different than the ‘normal’ used to be. Masks, sanitisers will be a must. During an online interaction, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ had said, modified seating arrangements, change in timings and further division of the class into different sections could be among the key features.

A news agency has reported that the Central Government has decided to not re-open schools until December.#PIBFactCheck: Government has not made any such decision.#FakeNews pic.twitter.com/az7JDcOmWn

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) August 13, 2020

The reopening will take place in a phased manner and students in classes 9 to 12 will be called first. Students studying in classes 1 to 5 are unlikely to go back to classrooms anytime soon.

Earlier, the ministry announced guidelines for online classes by schools and recommended a cap on duration of three hours per day for students. The guidelines have been framed by the ministry, following concerns raised by parents about schools conducting online classes like regular schools, which has increased children’s screen time.

In the guideline called “Pragyata”, the MHRD recommended that the duration for online classes for pre-primary students should not be for more than 30 minutes. For classes 1 to 8, two online classes of up to 45 minutes each and  for classes to 9 to 12, four sessions of 30-45 minutes duration have been recommended.

Source: The Indian Express

Read: Majority of parents do not want schools to reopen: Survey

Also read: Final-year exams to be held at year-end; no decision on school reopening: HRD meeting