Goa schools permitted to reopen for classes 9 to 12 from Oct 18

NEW DELHI: Schools in Goa have been permitted to reopen for physical classes for classes 9 to 12 from October 18 with COVID-19 guidelines and standard operating procedures in place, an official said on Friday. In a circular issued on Thursday, state Director of Education Bhushan Savaikar said the state government decided to reopen schools for physical classes after consultation with an expert committee.

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The department has asked managements and heads of educational institutions to take a decision, by considering the available infrastructure and local conditions, it was stated. “Schools may, if required, initially follow a hybrid mode of teaching, that is, online as well as offline classes,” the circular stated. Masks, temperature checks and sanitisation are mandatory at the entry gates of institutions, and even the staff should be checked before entry, it said. As per the circular, school functions and assemblies should not be conducted, till further orders. Goa on Thursday recorded 68 cases of COVID-19 and two casualties that took the tally of infections to 1,77,356, including 3,335 deaths. The coastal state currently has 679 active cases.

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