Covid-19: Gujarat schools reopen for Classes 1 to 9 today; online class to continue

Ahmedabad: Schools reopened for offline sessions for Classes 1 to 9 across Gujarat on Monday in the wake of a decline in COVID-19 cases in the state. The physical sessions for Classes 1 to 9 were suspended on January 8 in view of the then rising COVID-19 cases in the state, but schools for Classes 10 to12 and colleges were not closed.

Gujarat on Sunday reported 3,897 new COVID-19 cases as against its all-time high peak of 24,485 on January 20 this year, as per official figures. On Monday, schools reopened across the state with students appearing happy and excited to be back to their classrooms. They were seen wearing face masks and adhering to other COVID-19 guidelines.

Also read | Delhi School Reopening: 95% govt school students vaccinated, Manish Sisodia

Parents were required to submit consent letters for sending their children to schools. Some schools in Surat started offline classes with "mind fresh activities" to help the students relax. Students from some schools in Ahmedabad said they preferred coming to school as against the online classes, which restricted them to home and prevented from meeting their friends physically.

A circular issued by the Gujarat education department last week said considering the COVID-19 situation, the government, private and grant-in-aid schools can resume offline education for Classes 1 to 9 from Monday. But, online teaching will also continue and students can choose between the two systems, it had said.

The offline classes will be run in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the government earlier, the circular had said. While the in-person sessions were suspended for Classes 1 to 9 last month, the Gujarat government had decided not to discontinue offline sessions for Classes 10 to 12, colleges and coaching centres. They were allowed to run at 50 per cent capacity with strict adherence to the COVID-19 SOPs.

Also read | Karnataka Hijab Row: Students made to sit in separate classroom; 2 carrying lethal weapon arrested