VIJAYAWADA: The current academic year (2020-21) has been extended till April 30, totalling 180 working days, said school education commissioner V Chinna Veerabhadrudu on Saturday. "As the schools will resume working in a phased manner, officials are busy making necessary changes, in day-to-day schedules and mid-day meals, in order to adhere to safety protocols put in place in wake of the COVID-19 situation," Veerabhadrudu said.
He said although the schools will start functioning for classes 9, 10 and 12 from November 2, students will attend them on alternate days and classes will be held only till noon. "Each classroom will be accessible to only 16 students, so that the physical distancing norm is followed. Wearing masks, frequently washing hands and maintaining physical distancing should be mandatorily followed by every student and teacher," he said.
Every day the students will have an orientation class on COVID-19 precautions, and the regular classes will be held from 9.15 am to 1.45 pm, followed by midday meals.
Although the classes will be conducted only for half a day, the teachers have been instructed to work for the entire day as online classes will be conducted in the afternoon hours. "Online classes will be held from 2 pm to 4.15 pm,/; informed Veerabhadrudu.
The officials have also made arrangements for those opting for the virtual classes by using dedicated mobile apps such as Abyasa and Diksa along with Doordarshan and Youtube, based on the students' accessibility to the technology.
As far as residential schools are concerned, hostel facility will be made available and those students who don’t have an alternate option for accommodation will be given priority. Also, the schools have been provided with grants to acquire thermal scanners and sanitiser for maintenance of a clean and safe environment.
SOPs from the health and transport departments have been sought. "We have instructed all school principals to conduct meetings with parents and teachers on November 1 and prepare school-level SOPs," the commissioner added.
The state has around 60,000 schools, including aided, unaided and private. The classes will resume from November 2 for students of classes 9 and 10, November 23 for those of classes 6 to 8 and December 14 for the pupils of classes 1 to 5.
With respect to higher education, the state government has decided to open such institutions, including the affiliated colleges, across the state from November 2 and classes will take place on all six days of the week. In this context, a new academic calendar for non-professional, professional and post-graduate programmes was released on Friday.
Classes on Sundays, holidays
The schools will get 180 days instead of the usual 222 days. Of the 180 days, 143 will be working days and 37 will be holidays. However, home assignments will be given to students and online sessions will be scheduled. Second and fourth Saturdays (which are usually holidays), Sundays and other holidays (except for national holidays and days of important festivals) will be used to cover up for the lost time.
App to ensure toilets are cleaned
A mobile application is being developed to ensure cleanliness is maintained in schools. Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh has said all schools have been instructed to clean toilets after every one hour. Once the application is ready, the schools will have click to a picture of the cleaned washrooms and upload the same on the app.
Academic schedule for schools
Preliminary exams - November first week
Formative assessment one - December last week
Online uploading of marks- From Jan first week
Formative assessment two - February last week
Final exams - April last week
Class 10 board exams - May