The Secondary Education Department, Assam, has notified the standard operation procedure (SOP) for fresh re-opening of schools in the state from Class IX to XII maintaining all the protocols of safety guidelines under COVID-19 pandemic.
The SOP will come into effect from September 21 and shall be operative for a period of 15 days.
Subsequently, the SOP will be modified after observing the situation for 15 days from September 21.
As per the new SOP, from September 21 only Class IX to Class XII will remain open and all other classes will remain suspended.
For the students of Class IX and XII, classes will be conducted on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
For Class X and XI, classes will be conducted on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
For every class, students should be divided into two batches and if in any class the total number of students is less than 20 then the division will not be required.
The first batch of students will come to school at 9 am and they will be there in the schools up to 12 noon.
The second batch of classes will begin from 1 pm and continue till 4 pm.
School authority will ensure that before commencing informal class of the 2nd batch, the first batch students are sent back home.
Students will come to school provided their parents have no objection and as such written undertaking/confirmation from the parents should be produced in the schools.
The total number of teaching and non-teaching staff should be restricted to 50 per cent.
Teachers with a severe comorbid condition such as chronic kidney disease, type-2 diabetics with a severe condition, heart surgery and suffering from cancer will be exempted by the of the institution from attending schools.
The head of the institution will submit information on a weekly basis, regarding the number of teachers and students tested positive during randomise testing if the number is more than reasonable the head of the institution will discuss the matter with the director of higher education and director of secondary education, Assam, in order to see whether the class will continue or will be suspended.
A state helpline maintained by Samagra Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), Kahilipara, Guwahati, will be notified in the leading newspapers.
In case, teachers need some clarification, this helpline shall be kept open during the working hours and should be mentioned in the advertisement itself.
The SOP that will be effective from September 21, will be modified after observing the situation for the next 15 days.
This SOP outlines various generic precautionary measures to be adopted in addition to specific measures to be taken when schools are permitting students to attend the classes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Assam.
The generic preventive measures include-
The Story Mug, a Guwahati-based blogzine, believes in telling stories that matter.
