Schools to reopen in UP from October 19, permissions from parents mandatory

Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday announced that schools of all boards can reopen from October 19 onwards for classes 9 to 12. The notification also mentioned that a written permission from the parents will be mandatory.

Classes will be held in shifts and all necessary protocols including social distancing and proper sanitisation of premises will have to be followed by schools, the state government announced.

"In the first phase, Classes 9 to 12 may start in these schools. The schools must run in two shifts of smaller durations, to ensure student safety," deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma said.

In the first shift, students of Classes 9 and 10 may come to school, while in the second shift, students of Classes 11 and 12 may attend classes, he said. A maximum of 50 per cent students should be called in a day and remaining 50 per cent the following day.

The government also mentioned that it is mandatory for students to have a written permission from their parents to attend the physical classes in the school.

Additional chief secretary, Secondary Education, Aradhana Shukla, has issued an order in this connection and a standard operating procedure (SOP) on health, sanitation and necessary protocols has already been issued for the reopening of schools, a statement from the state government said.

The order is available on the website of the department, it said.

It is mandatory for students and school workers to mandatorily wear a mask. The government mentioned that online classes must continue and the priority on calling should be to those students who are unable to take online classes. 

Uttar Pradesh has reported 4,33,712 Covid-19 cases so far. A total of 6,353 people have succumbed to the disease in the state, according to news agency PTI.