School reopening: Classes to be held till afternoon; children will be divided into batches

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ministers V Sivankutty and Veena George on Tuesday handed over the guidelines regarding the reopening of schools to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. As per the guidelines, classes will be held only till the afternoon and children in each class will be divided into batches to control the number. The final guidelines will be issued on Wednesday.

The division of students into batches is not mandatory if the number of students is small. Children with disabilities need not come to class during the initial phase. All teachers and non-teachers should take two doses of the vaccine. Helplines should be set up in schools. The guideline covers school cleaning, safety, meetings at various levels, and planning activities. A detailed guideline on academic activities will be issued later.

Meetings of staff councils, PTAs, councilors, and well-wishers should be arranged at the school. District level meetings should be held under the leadership of the Collector and the District Panchayat President with the participation of the people's representatives and officials of various departments.

• Only one child should be seated on a bench in classes one to seven
• At the LP level, 10 children can be seated in a class at the same time.
• Online learning will continue for children who are unable to attend school
• All teachers must attend school on working days
• A sick room should be prepared for the sick.