Schools for Classes 9, 11 to resume in Gujarat from Feb 1

WITHIN THREE weeks of reopening schools for classes 10 and 12, the Gujarat government Wednesday announced classes 9 and 11 will resume from February 1. Coaching classes for students of classes 9 to 12 and competitive examinations have also been allowed to reopen from February 1.

The decision was taken at the state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and will apply to all government, self-financed and grant-in-aid schools across the state.

“After an overwhelming response for Classes 10 and 12 along with the state health department’s report, a decision to reopen classes 9 and 11 was taken today at the Cabinet meeting. The decision is also based on the health department’s effective efforts in reducing the incidence of coronavirus in the state,” Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said.

Guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the government earlier on January 8 with respect to Covid-19 will apply for Classes 9 and 11, the minister said. The private tuition classes will also have to strictly observe SOPs, he said.

After remaining shut for over nine months due to the coronavirus outbreak, schools for classes 10 and 12 and colleges for final-year and post-graduation students had reopened in the state on January 11.

Chudasama said the decision to resume classroom teaching was taken in the interest of students. A decision on resuming classroom teaching for first- and second-year undergraduate courses, however, is awaited.

“These will also resume shortly. Preparations for these have already begun. College hostels, which were converted into Covid Care Centres during the incidence of a peak in cases, are hardly getting patients. A decision will be taken soon after the health and education secretaries submit their report about the complete sanitisation of such hostel premises and handing them back to the state government,” the minister added.