Punjab school education minister Vijay Inder Singla, on Sunday, said that following the approval of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh in view of the present Covid situation, the education department is all set to reopen schools for all classes from August 2 onwards.
The cabinet minister said that the schools will be conducting physical classes right from pre-primary to senior secondary level. He added that timings will remain the same from 8 am to 2 pm and parents will have to provide written consent before sending their wards to schools.
Vijay Inder Singla said that the reopening of schools would play an important role to assess the learning of the students during the pandemic as the teachers were able to contact the students through virtual classes only.
He said that after the assessment of the students, the teachers would focus on the fields which will be requiring more attention. He said that the reopening of schools will also provide a chance to the schools and teachers to teach the practical subjects in a better way by conducting practical classes.
Singla also directed the education department officials and school managements to ensure proper cleaning of premises and classrooms and follow the Covid-19 safety norms precisely as per the guidelines of Government of India and Punjab Government from time to time.
He said that the detailed guidelines have been issued soon to all district education officers which have also been circulated to all schools.
The minister directed the district education officers to ensure both doses of Covid vaccination of teaching and non-teaching staff before allowing them to conduct physical classes and should also arrange availability of vaccine for school staff on priority basis in liaison with respective district administration.
Also read: PSEB Class 12 results: 96.48% pass, girls fare marginally better than boys
He said that random testing will also be conducted in schools with the ratio of 100:1 students and secretary school education will be reviewing the situation on a weekly basis.