Ambuj Tripathi
ambuj.tripathi@thelucknowjournal.com
Health, cleanliness, safety and social distancing will be taken care of.
New Delhi, 05 October: The Ministry of Education issued the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on Monday for the opening of schools from October 15.
The first part of the SOP issued by the Ministry of School Education Department is about health, cleanliness and safety.
In the second part, emphasis has been given to teaching and learning keeping in mind the social distancing.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank hoped that the states would follow this SOP in a good way.
He confirmed that no student will be compelled to come to the school.
The SOP states that every part of the school has to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized before it is opened. Hand washing and disinfection are to be managed. ‘From planning a child’s seating plan to a safe transport plan, a time-gap plan between classes, all arrangements for security at entry and exit points, safe living in hostels Emphasis has also been laid on the management of The SOP talks about maintaining six feet of social distancing.
Everyone must always wear masks in areas associated with class, laboratories and sports. Frequent hand washing and breathing etiquette have also been asked. According to SOP, children will not be able to go to school sans the written permission of their parents and guardians.
According to the Unlock-5 guidelines, SOP also includes talk of flexibility in attendance. If students want, they can opt for online class instead of going to school. There are many things related to the precautions to be taken in the SOP for preparing and serving the midday meal.
In the second part, the emphasis is on reading and teaching and evaluating the results of learning from studies. Schools have been asked to follow the alternative academic calendar of NCERT.
As per SOP, during the evaluation, emphasis has been laid on adopting different formats for learning based assessment instead of pen paper test. No evaluation will be allowed immediately until two to three weeks after the school opens. It has also been asked to promote online education.
Guidelines related to mental health of students are also given in SOP. It also mentions the roles and responsibilities of education departments, heads of schools, teachers and family members of states and union territories. A check list for safe environment at school has also been included in the SOP based on United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF’s) guideline to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
