Tripura's state education minister Ratan Lal Nath on Saturday said that schools in Tripura will reopen for students from October 5. It is to be noted that all schools and colleges were closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision was taken at a high-power committee meeting of the Education Department at the Civil Secretariat, which was attended by the Vice-Chancellors of Tripura University (Central) and Maharaja Bir Bikram University and officials of the departments of primary and higher education.
Nath said that 50% of teachers would attend schools on a rotational basis. Students from class 9 to 12 can attend classes only after obtaining written consent from their parents.
The education department has started online classes, video lecture sessions in local TV channels, student helpline call centers, SMS-based classrooms for students during the epidemic. The department started neighborhood classes from August 20 for all students with a 1:5 teacher-student ratio, especially for those who are unable to take online classes due to lack of gadgets. But due to an increase in COVID-19 cases and related deaths, it was closed within a week.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu had also decided to resume classes for 10, 11, and 12 students from October 1, 2020. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) has been issued by the state government in this regard.
Meanwhile, the academic session 2020-21 for the first-year students will commence from November 1, as per the latest guidelines by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which has directed the educational institutions to complete merit/entrance-based admission process by October 2020.
However, in case of delay in the declaration of results of the qualifying examinations, the universities may start the session from November 18, says the latest guidelines issued by the UGC.
