Maharashtra Govt issues SOPs for School Reopening; Safety onus Entirely on Schools: Details Here

November 13, 2020: Maharashtra schools are showing their disappointment with the state government’s Education Department issuing Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs). 

On November 10, 2020, Maharashtra Education Department released the Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) to be followed during the reopening of schools, which failed to satisfy Maharashtra School faculty. Following which, the Mumbai Principals Association released a statement that endowing the entire responsibility for students’ safety should not be inflicted on schools. 

Read: Health Ministry issues SOPs for Reopening Schools, Higher Education Institutions

Referring to the release of SOPs for schools, Prashant Redij, the Spokesperson of Mumbai Principals Association strongly said, “We know the safety of students is important. But the way in which SOPs are framed, it seems as if the entire responsibility of ensuring their safety is on schools”. 

He further added, “While a lot of precautions are suggested for schools, there is no clarity on where the necessary financial assistance will come from".

Read: Odisha Stalls Plan to Reopen Schools in November: Know Why

Education Department’s SOPs On Maharashtra Schools Reopening

Guidelines released by Maharashtra Education Government for school reopening include strict parameters to be followed by staff to ensure the safety of students. 

As per the guidelines, schools has been strictly asked to do the following activities: 

• Mandatory COVID-19 test for school teaching and non-teaching staff.
• One bench per student to ensure social distancing and precautions. 
• No Extracurricular activities like sports or gathering on the school campuses. 
• Ensure Physical Distancing, Temperature checks, and Proper sanitization of classrooms. 

Shikshak Parishad, a night school teacher's group spokesperson Niranjan Giri said, “Especially for night school teachers, whose salaries are really low, undergoing a test and spending from their pocket will be tough. We request the government to make testing free for teachers and school staff”.

In accordance with the Maharashtra Government statement, schools in the state will reopen from November 23, 2020, for classes 9th to 12th. State government stated that in order to ensure the safety of students, schools, parents, and government need to work together. 

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• Uttarakhand Government Mull Over Making Covid-19 Testing Mandatory in Day Schools

• Colleges, Secondary Schools in Gujarat to reopen from November 23

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