FRESH SOP ISSUED ON REOPENING OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS
(The Quiver) After Odisha Government recent announced on reopening of schools for Class 1 to 5 students from January 3, the School and Mass Education Department issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the schools.
Classes will be held from 9 am to 12 noon, without any break in all working days leaving Sundays and public holidays. Go through the SOPs published by the state government.
SOPs for health, hygiene and other safety protocols before opening of schools:
General guidelines on school opening and attendance of teachers/students/staff
1. Only schools outside the containment zones shall be allowed to open. Further, students, teachers and employees living in containment zones will not be allowed to attend the school Students, teachers and employees shall also be advised not to visit areas falling within containment zones. Due to the dynamic nature of the situation, these decisions will be taken by the district Collector. Collector will also direct the relevant school to immediately shut down in case their zone is declared as a containment zone.
2. All work areas, furniture, libraries, laboratories, storage places, water tanks and areas of common use shall be thoroughly sanitized, prior to the resumption.
3. Ensure working Hand Washing Facilities in the schools.
4. Ensure availabilities of key supplies like Thermometer, disinfectants, shops and the availabilities of these essentials should be organized. The Thermometer to be used should be a Calibrated contact less infrared digital thermometer.
5. Sanitization of school transport before they start plying must be ensured.
6. Guidelines issued by the Department of Disinfection of Common Public places should be referred to for suitable follow up.
7. School provided transportation should also be discouraged to reduce risk. Parents must ensure that they take responsibility of the child’s commute to school. Where plying, transport facilities may run at maximum of 50% capacity with adequate sanitization before picking up and after dropping students.
8. High risk staff members with severe ailments or underlying conditions must take extra precaution.
9. No student should be forced to come to school. Only those parents and students who feel comfortable attending school should do so.
Some students who prefer to attend online classes rather than physically attend school, will be permitted to do so.
b) Online and classroom learning will go in tandem with each other and should continue to share timelines and daily schedules to ensure synchronization.
c) Students may attend schools/institutions in consultation with their parents or guardians. Attendance must not be enforced
d) The District Collector will have the final authority to take decisions in this regard to the time and method of school reopening in exceptional circumstances for all the schools in the district.
