Delhi schools reopening today; Know guidelines and details here

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia have announced that schools and colleges in Delhi will reopen from today with COVID-19 guidelines. All the staff is required to be fully vaccinated and 50% of the students will be allowed to sit in a class.

On October 26, DDMA recommended reopening of schools for Class 6 to 8 with 50% student capacity in private schools. Government schools have been reporting over 80 per cent attendance after they reopened schools for Classes 9 to 12 in September. The DDMA panel said that there is no instance of local transmission of COVID-19 due to reopening Classes 9 to 12, hence all schools can be reopened.

On October 27, Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia tweeted, “All the schools and educational institutes shall be allowed to be opened, for all the classes, in Delhi from Nov 1, 2021.“

He also said that, if students want they can attend the offline classes otherwise they can go for online classes.

“However, schools shall also continue online classes for the students who are not willing to attend classes offline,” he added.

All the schools and educational institutes shall be allowed to be opened, for all the classes, in Delhi from 1st Nov.

However, schools shall also continue online classes for the students who are not willing to attend classes offline.

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) October 27, 2021

It is also recommended by DDMA that schools will not force students to attend physical classes. Also, schools have to follow COVID-19 guidelines to ensure the safety of students and staff. Guidelines such as mandatory thermal screening, allowing only 50 per cent students per classroom, alternate seating arrangement and avoiding routine guest visits, staggered lunch breaks are needed to be followed.

Students and staff from containment zones will not be allowed to come to schools. Earlier, the Delhi government had reopened the schools for Class 9 to 12 in September.