Summary
State government clears resumption of offline classes for standards I to V, following all standard operating procedures
Parental consent is necessary to attend class; attendance is not mandatory
Students from classes I to V can physically attend schools in Gujarat from November 22, after a clearance from the state government owing to a steady drop in COVID-19 cases across the state.
State education minister Jitu Vaghani announced the decision to resume primary school classes on November 21, saying that students can attend classes on the school premises as soon as the Diwali vacation ends on November 22.
“Schools will make arrangements for the resumption of offline classes (for students of classes I to V) from tomorrow in consultation with the state government,” he said.
However, parental permission is required for sending wards to schools, Vaghani insisted. Also, attendance will not be mandatory.
This will be the first time that students from classes I to V will be attending schools in person, ever since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic around two years ago and the subsequent imposition of restrictions.
“The SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) remains the same as applied for other classes, where offline education is resumed,” said Vaghani.
The state education department will make necessary arrangements to ensure that the classes resume without much hassle and the SOPs are strictly adhered to, he added.
Online classes would continue side by side for all those who do not wish to attend physical classes.
Physical classes for standards VI to VIII had resumed in Gujarat on September 2 with a 50% capacity. For this reopening, the state government had also allowed online classes to continue along with offline classes, keeping the attendance of students optional.
At the beginning of July, the state government had allowed the reopening of schools for Class XII, colleges as well as technical institutions in view of a significant drop in new coronavirus cases.
Gujarat had reported 36 coronavirus positive cases in the last 24 hours preceding November 20, taking the total number of infections in the state to 8,27,184, the state health department had said. Gujarat was left with 323 active cases as of November 20.
Several other states have resumed physical classes for primary school students, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Rajasthan. Others like Goa, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are likely to follow suit.
Last updated on 22 Nov 2021
