The School Education and Literacy Department of Jharkhand has decided to resume in-person classes for students of class 6 to 8 from September 24 after utilising the next couple of days to sanitize or classrooms and make preparations, officials from the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) said on Monday.

Students attending in-person classes at schools will, however, have to produce an undertaking from their parents, stating that none of their family members was suffering from any symptoms of Covid-19 and that they were willingly sending their children to school, an official from JEPC said.

Even though students will get to attend in-person classes at schools, Midday Meal (MDM), under which students at government schools are provided free cooked meals daily, will remain suspended for the time being. Eligible students will, however, be provided ration during this period.

“Since schools have remained closed for several months, we wanted to sanitise the classrooms and ensure complete safety for children before resuming classes,” said Abhinav Kumar, the state coordinator for quality education. “All students will have to produce an undertaking from their parents and follow Covid-appropriate behavior,” he added.

JEPC has decided to keep all air conditioners switched off in schools during classes and allow only one student to sit on a desk at a time. Teams from the district administration have also been instructed to conduct regular Covid tests at schools for early identification of any student suffering from the disease, officials said.

Students will have the option to continue online classes depending on what their parents decide.

Some private schools have also held parent-teacher meetings recently and asked parents to fill up a questionnaire to see if they were willing to send their children to school for in-person classes and exams.

While the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) allowed resumption of in-person classes for students of class 6 to 8 at its latest meeting chaired by chief minister Hemant Soren on September 14, it did not announce specific dates for classes to resume.

In-person classes for students of class 9 to 12 resumed in August, but a negligible number of students have been regularly attending classes at schools, sources said. Many parents preferred online education over in-person classes for their children for fears of a possible third wave of Covid-19, a teacher from a renowned private school in Ranchi said.

Students attending offline classes at schools are made to undergo thermal scanning every day and those suffering from any illness are instructed to stay at home.