Govt out with fresh norms for schools sanitisation, CEOs to monitor works

A senior School Education Department official told DT Next on Tuesday that several works including the sanitisation process have to be undertaken since the institutions have been closed for the last seven months. “Only a few teachers came to the schools and stayed in the office,” he said adding, “most of the classrooms were kept locked since the first week of April.”

Pointing out that there are more than 40,000 government and government-aided schools across TN, he said, “It has also been decided that at least one teacher would be deployed per school to prepare an action plan with the calendar of activity before reopening.” Teachers will have to prepare a detailed list of works to be undertaken on a priority basis so that it could be started soon. Headmasters will help teachers carry out their duties. “The Chief Education Officers (CEO) and District Education Officers will monitor the overall situation,” he said, adding, “Block-level education officials will also visit for inspection.”

Stating that northeast monsoon has been active over the region, the official said, “There are chances of school walls getting damaged and therefore maintenance work, including COVID-19 safety measures, will be carried out with immediate effect.”

The official said that a list of schools affected by the rains will also be prepared and would be sent to the CEOs for release of funds. “The overall data will be stored by the CEOs in the Education Management Information System (EMIS), a common online platform connecting the government, schools, and teachers,” he added.

The government had announced that educational institutions would open from November 16. However, after getting feedback from the parents, who were unwilling to send their children to schools yet, the government postponed the reopening date indefinitely.