THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The final decision on reopening schools after nine months of closure in the wake of Covid- 19 spread will be taken on December 17. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a high-level meeting which will be attended by General Education Minister C Raveendranath and department officials. Sources close to the education department said the decision will be taken on December 17 after the meeting. The classes are likely to begin in January first week.
However, classes for only Class X and XII will begin in the first phase as students of these classes need to prepare for public examinations. Classes I to IX and Class XI will begin only later based on the pandemic circumstances. The annual examinations for the lower classes are most likely to be scrapped this academic year too. Meanwhile, the public examinations for Classes X and XII are likely to be held in April next year.
A Shajahan, Secretary, General Education Department, told TNIE that the meeting being convened by the CM will decide the reopening dates of the higher classes. “Most probably, classes for X and XII standards will begin in January itself. The other procedures, including the Covid-19 protocol, which need to be followed in the wake of pandemic will also be discussed. However, the classes will be exam oriented as the students of these classes need to appear for the examinations in three to four months. As per the current circumstances, the annual examinations for lower classes may not be held.
The meeting will discuss all these aspects,” he said. The depart - ment will hold consul tat ions with stakeholders, including parents, teachers, school development monitoring committee members and various school managem e n t associations. Th e s chool managements reportedly informed the government that there was an urgent need to reopen schools as learning and academics of students had taken a severe hit this academic year, sources said.
The education department has already handed over various proposals to the chief minister regarding the guidelines and procedures to be followed when the schools reopen. Earlier, the CM had expressed hope to reopen the schools in January. Last month, the state government directed the teachers of Class X and Class XII to come to the schools from December 17 compulsorily. Fifty per cent of the teachers should attend school on a given day as part of improving academic support being provided to students and gear up for revision classes for them.