NEW DELHI: Delhi schools have put in place the stringent standard operating procedures (SOP) including thermal scanning, contactless santisers, staggered and shorter class hours as they are all set to start physical calsses after a gap of ten months. The Delhi government has allowed all schools outside containment zones to reopen for classes 10 and 12 from January 18 in view of the board exams. However, some private schools has decided to collect consent letters from parents and reopen from January 20.
“We have implemented all the Covid guidelines. All classrooms have been sanitised and teachers are preparing videos to emotionally support students in accomodating with the new rules,” said Anil Kumar, Principal of Sarvodya Bal Vidyalaya, Subhash Nagar. “We have 70 days to cover the syllabus, clear doubts, instil confidence and prepare our students to face the board exams. We are expecting 90 per cent turn out,” said Kumar.
However, the reopeing of schools has put the teachers of Delhi government school in a Catch-22 situation as many of them are still deployed on Covid-19 duty. “At least 400 subject teachers are deployed in vaccination duty. The government should relieve all the teachers, especially the subject teachers, from the Covid duty. Otherwise, the school reopening will be in vain,” said Sant Ram, teacher at SBV, Subhash Nagar. “Everything is in place but some teachers are deployed in Covid duty. We will request the SDMs to relive the teachers as soon as possible,” said Kumar.
“We used to make made videos and worksheets at night and share them with students. I request the authorities to relieve us as the students need us with the board exams just round the corner,” said a teacher on condition of anonymity. AK Mishra, District Magistrate of East district, said, “We have recently relieved many teachers as the schools are reopening.
Also, we have asked for fresh list of teachers who are free like PET, primary teachers, so we can relieve the senior teachers on duty.” “We have not recieved any requests from schools and Directorate of Education yet. If we get any requests, we will surely relieve the teachers and replace them with those who are free,” the South Delhi DM office said.