New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the schools will be reopened for Class 9th and 11th students from February 5th, 2021. He announced reopening of degree colleges, polytechnics, and ITIs too. He directed the officials to ensure safety for the students and proper sanitization of the entire school premises. He was speaking at a press conference Friday.
Sisodia said that schools and colleges are being reopened so that students can prepare better for their practicals and internal assessments. He said that masks and sanitisers should be available in the school premises and social distancing norms should be followed.
The Deputy CM said that it is important to provide support and guidance to the students for them to prepare well for the exams. That is why the decision to reopen the schools was taken so that the students can attend the school with their parental consent and get gradually involved in the learning process. He said that it won’t be possible to compensate for the learning loss due to the pandemic, but it’s important to utilize the remaining time in this academic year.
Sisodia said that our primary focus is to reopen the schools and ensure safety for every child. He said that the schools were reopened for the students of Class 10th and 12th from January 18th, 2021. Initially, parents were unsure about sending their children due to the pandemic. Hence, schools saw poor attendance in the initial days. But now, parents have seen the preparedness by the schools and are convinced about their children’s safety. Hence, close to 80% of those who are called is being reported from the schools.
Keeping the school reopening in mind, Directorate of Education (DOE) issued examination instructions for Class 9th and 11th. For Class 11th, practicals, projects and internal assessments etc will be conducted at the school level from 1st March 2021. It is advised to the schools that they may conduct these assessments before the commencement of annual examinations. Midterm examinations may be conducted from 20th March to 15th April 2021, tentatively from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm in all the schools. Assessment of internal grades should also be done prior to the commencement of annual examinations. Question papers for annual examinations will be set up covering all the reduced syllabus which is uploaded on DOE’s website.
For Class 9th, schools may conduct the first periodic assessment and second periodic assessment preferably in the 4th week of February and 3rd week of March respectively maintaining appropriate COVID appropriate behavior. Midterm examinations may be conducted from April 1st to April 15th, 2021, tentatively from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm in all the schools. Projects and assignments which were given to the students as holiday homework or home assignments during the winter vacations will be considered as Subject Enrichment Activities.
