After 1.5 years, Mumbai schools, junior colleges to open on October 4 – Times of India

Mumbai: After 18 months of the pandemic-driven shutdown, schools and junior colleges in Mumbai can welcome back to their physical classrooms students of Classes 8 to 12 from October 4.
BMC education officer Raju Tadvi on Wednesday issued a circular permitting reopening of schools for higher secondary students after a go-ahead from municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal. The state had given its nod on Friday and left the final decision in urban areas to the civic chiefs or collectors. The civic bodies of Thane and Navi Mumbai will take a decision on reopening schools on Thursday, while the Vasai-Virar and Palghar district administrations will take a call next week.
In Mumbai, a total of 2,553 schools and junior colleges can bring back 5.13 lakh students to classrooms. Most schools, however, are planning to start in a phased manner by welcoming Class 10 students. Many principals said Class 12 students (who are not vaccinated as they are still not 18 years old) will not be able to reach their colleges as they will not be permitted train travel.
Schools may bring in Std 10 pupils back first, those in 8 and 9 in November
Schools may bring class 8 and 9 students back in mid-November, when the second semester begins. All schools and junior colleges have first-semester exams next month in online mode. Most junior colleges will begin their new academic year for class XI students online from next week.
All the standard operating procedures chalked out by the state will have to befollowed, Tadvi said. Parental consent will be mandatory, and educational institutions will have to keep online learning going.
“We will bring back our class X students as they can get down with their practicals and mock tests before their first semester online boards in November,” said Perin Bagli, principal, Activity School, a Council of Indian Secondary Certificate Examination (CISCE) school. The BMC has already given permission to CISCE, CBSE and international education boards in the city to conduct physical exams till November.
The principal of a state board school said it will be a challenge to plan the return of 327 class X students. “With 24 benches in a class, we cannot accommodate more than 12 students. Teachers will not be able to conduct online and offline classes simultaneously,” he said. Vaccination of teachers and non-teaching staff is still underway and many will not be allowed train travel, the principal said.
St Xaviers College vice-principal (junior college) Hasnain Naqvi said they will take a call on reopening after considering government guidelines and their readiness.
Schools and colleges have started collecting consent letters from parents, but say the response has been poor. When schools in rural areas opened for classes 8-12 in July, only 10% of students attended physical classes. Over 35% of schools in the state had reopened.
The 781 civic schools with 67,361 higher secondary students have got down to putting Covid protocols in place. Vaccination and quarantine centres in civic schools have been ordered to move out. Civic teachers on Covid duty have also been asked to be relieved for teaching work.
All schools in the city and state will have to have a health clinic and will have to regularly monitor students’ temperature, according to the state SOPs.