The Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has declared that the attendance of students will not be made mandatory after the schools reopen. Since the schools in several states in the country are planning to reopen in the upcoming months, attendance will not be compulsory for students in the beginning phase keeping the pandemic situation in mind.
Addressing about the reopening of schools in the country, in his weekly online interaction “Sunday Samvaad”, Dr Vardhan mentioned that the students who will be attending classes will have to get their parents consent before rejoining in written form.
“The guidelines by the Ministry of Home Affairs state students may attend school only with the written consent of parents and that attendance will not be enforced upon the students,” Harsh Vardhan said.
The schools will have to strictly follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs while reopening the schools and resuming regular classes.
Encouragement should be given to Online Learning:
The Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan instructed all schools to promote online learning for the students who cannot go to school due to the pandemic. Pressing on the importance of online learning, Dr Vardhan has urged the parents to ensure well-lit rooms for the children who are studying through online classes. This would prevent the children from straining eyes while using devices like laptops, mobiles or computers as a limit has been set for the screen time of online classes. This will also make sure that the children don't face any problem while the class is going on.
He further added that "For nursery level, parents will be guided to assist the kids and this class will be of 30 minutes; students from Class 1 to 8 will be allowed to take two sessions of not more than 45 minutes each, and four sessions not more than 45 minutes each for students from class 9 to 12.”
Standard screen time for school students of different classes has been given so that it doesn’t strain the eyes of the students during online classes before the conduction of regular classes from schools.
Also Read: COVID effect: Delhi schools to remain shut till October 31
The Ministry of Home Affairs had already issued a list of guidelines for the reopening of schools amid the guidelines issued for the Unlock 5. According to the guidelines, the schools can be reopened from October 15, but the final decision will be made by the state governments in accordance with the pandemic circumstances in that particular state.