Delhi schools to reopen soon; classes 9-12 from Sep 1, classes 6-8 from Sep 8

The DDMA had set up an expert committee that had recommended the phase-wise reopening of the schools from the next month.

The decision of reopening Delhi schools was cleared at a Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting on Friday. According to the decision, the schools will reopen for physical classes in a phased manner from September 1. Senior classes, that is 9-12 will begin from September 1 and the middle section, that is 6-8 will begin its classes from September 8.

The DDMA had set up an expert committee that had recommended the phase-wise reopening of the schools from the next month. The committee had submitted its report on Wednesday. The panel recommended that in the first phase, students of senior classes should be called after which the middle-grade students should be allowed which should be followed by the primary classes.

According to the committee, the parents should be given the choice of sending their child to attend physical classes while others who do not wish to send their child, can opt for online classes. The committee also suggested a 50 per cent cap on the number of students to be present.

Since the schools were shut last year in March, the Delhi government had allowed physical classes only for Classes 9-12 in January, 2021, which were again suspended amid the deadly second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

For the time being, students of classes 10, 11 and 12 are permitted to visit schools with the consent of parents for admission and board exam-related activities.