SHILLONG, Jan 10: Schools in Meghalaya are set to reopen today after a 21-day “winter break” with classes 9-12 fully reopening in both urban and rural areas for completion of courses and preparation of the Board examinations, 2021.
Classes 6-8 will fully open in rural areas and partially open in urban/semi-urban towns of Shillong, Jowai, Nongpoh, Tura, Byrnihat, Jorabat and Khanapara. The partial opening entails only consultations, assignments submission and discussion with teachers/counselors in the school premises.
Classes 1-5 will partially open in rural areas and remain closed in urban/semi-urban towns.
Classes will continue till March 10 after which final examination/assessment will be held from March 11 to 20 while the new academic session (2021-22) would commence from April 1.
The generic preventive measures which are to be followed include mandatory parental consent for attendance. The school managing committee shall consult with the stakeholders (parents, district health officials and local community) prior to reopening of any category of classes.
The school authorities are empowered to take any decision pertaining to closure of schools in an event of any suspected COVID-19 cases in consultation with Health officials.
The school authorities are also empowered to design a daily plan and restrict the duration of classes to 30 minutes and a break of 5 minutes after each period.
A blended approach of 3 days of school attendance and 2 days for home assignments may also be considered to reduce the exposure.
