Offline classes resume, joy in Kashmir as schools reopen after a long hiatus

@JournalistAadil

Srinagar: Schools in Kashmir valley were abuzz with noise and chatter of children as offline classes for students resumed in government and private schools in Jammu and Kashmir valley on Wednesday after a gap of nearly two and half years. School students dressed in uniforms and wearing masks marked a remarkable delight for them as well as the parents.

After a long hiatus due to Covid-19 pandemic the curbs that were imposed following decisions taken on August 5, 2019 decisions were lifted while adhering to Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) restrictions. The students were finally reunited with friends, giving educational institutions a joyful ambience. Merriment was writ large on faces of the parents and onlookers alike as return of students to schools filled the air with great fun and excitement.  

The students were required to wear face masks, their body temperatures were checked with thermal scanners and sanitisers were applied on their hands as they entered the schools. Government on Sunday made wearing masks mandatory for the students coming to the educational institutions.

The order by the Jammu and Kashmir State Executive Committee headed by Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, issued on February 27 reads, “Regarding the offline mode of teaching for other classes in all Schools of Jammu & Kashmir, the Heads of Institutions shall be responsible for adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) in their respective schools and prepare proper plans for the same. Symptomatic students should not be allowed to attend school. No student should be allowed to attend school without a mask.”

All the students coming to attend regular offline classes in the Universities, Colleges, Polytechnics, ITIs, etc. are required to carry a vaccination certificate with them. “The Heads of the institutions must ensure that guidelines related to social distancing and Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) are strictly followed including regular screening at the entrance of the Institution,” the order said, adding that, “They shall also screen any symptomatic student and ensure his or her testing to contain any possibility of spread of the virus in their institutions.

The schools have remained closed in Jammu and Kashmir more than in any part of the globe. While the pandemic forced the closure of educational institutions in mid-March in 2020 when the coronavirus was declared a pandemic around the world, the schools, colleges and universities had reopened after seven-month closure in the wake of the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

Even when reopened, attendance at educational institutions remained voluntary as the guidelines by Government of India provided that parents can decide what their wards must do. Most parents gave consent and school resumption seemed uninterrupted until Covid-19 announced an unpleasant return.

@JournalistAadil

Srinagar: Schools in Kashmir valley were abuzz with noise and chatter of children as offline classes for students resumed in government and private schools in Jammu and Kashmir valley on Wednesday after a gap of nearly two and half years. School students dressed in uniforms and wearing masks marked a remarkable delight for them as well as the parents.

After a long hiatus due to Covid-19 pandemic the curbs that were imposed following decisions taken on August 5, 2019 decisions were lifted while adhering to Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) restrictions. The students were finally reunited with friends, giving educational institutions a joyful ambience. Merriment was writ large on faces of the parents and onlookers alike as return of students to schools filled the air with great fun and excitement.  

The students were required to wear face masks, their body temperatures were checked with thermal scanners and sanitisers were applied on their hands as they entered the schools. Government on Sunday made wearing masks mandatory for the students coming to the educational institutions.

The order by the Jammu and Kashmir State Executive Committee headed by Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, issued on February 27 reads, “Regarding the offline mode of teaching for other classes in all Schools of Jammu & Kashmir, the Heads of Institutions shall be responsible for adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) in their respective schools and prepare proper plans for the same. Symptomatic students should not be allowed to attend school. No student should be allowed to attend school without a mask.”

All the students coming to attend regular offline classes in the Universities, Colleges, Polytechnics, ITIs, etc. are required to carry a vaccination certificate with them. “The Heads of the institutions must ensure that guidelines related to social distancing and Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) are strictly followed including regular screening at the entrance of the Institution,” the order said, adding that, “They shall also screen any symptomatic student and ensure his or her testing to contain any possibility of spread of the virus in their institutions.

The schools have remained closed in Jammu and Kashmir more than in any part of the globe. While the pandemic forced the closure of educational institutions in mid-March in 2020 when the coronavirus was declared a pandemic around the world, the schools, colleges and universities had reopened after seven-month closure in the wake of the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

Even when reopened, attendance at educational institutions remained voluntary as the guidelines by Government of India provided that parents can decide what their wards must do. Most parents gave consent and school resumption seemed uninterrupted until Covid-19 announced an unpleasant return.