Hyderabad: CBSE, Navodaya mull social distancing norms

Hyderabad: Even as Central and State governments are discussing ways and means in the post-lockdown scenario to enforce social distancing in public and private spaces, they are faced with another daunting task in form of maintaining the norms in schools as well. Will they be able to make children abide by the norms? And how? The regional offices of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) are already asked to look into the issue and consult schools in their purview and come out with suggestions. They have also been asked to report on the state of infrastructure in the affiliated schools in their jurisdictions.

The exercise is said to have been taken up as the Union HRD Ministry and the NCERT are working out a new set of guidelines on maintaining social distancing after reopening of schools in the first week of July for the ensuing academic year.

According to sources at the NVS here, looking after Telugu States, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, officials are collecting details on all facilities at the schools. The NVS comprises school-cum-hostels for students in the age group of 9 to 13 admitted for classes from VI to XI. On an average, each school admits students anywhere from 100 to a little over 400.

At present, some NVS schools have been handed over to the district administration to be used as Covid-19 isolation centres. This issue needs to be sorted out before the start of new academic year. For example, in Andhra Pradesh, nearly 20 to 30 per cent of NVS schools in Srikakulam, Nellore, Kadapa, Vizianagaram, Kurnool, Anantapur and Chittoor districts have been taken over and turned into Covid isolation wards. More or less similar is the situation in all regions across the country.

Speaking to The Hans India, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Prakasam-2, Principal M Sreenivasa Rao, said, "Initially, we are proposing to hold classes for the students of Classes X and XI.

In this age group, students can understand social distancing. The school wants to divide the strength into sections each comprising 10 to 15 students, and allot separate rooms for them." The social distancing is to be enforced at hostels too. For the purpose, only 200 students will be allowed in a hostel that otherwise accommodates around 400 students. "Once the reopening dates are announced, then we will make a request to the district authorities for handing over the facilities back to us," Rao informed.

Meanwhile, sources at the CBSE regional office, Chennai, said that they, too, are awaiting any guidelines in this regard. A senior official said that several schools affiliated to the board in the region are of the view that holding classes in morning and afternoon shifts can be an alternative to implementing social distancing norms. Clarity would emerge only after the MHRD announces the new guidelines.

While the national institutions are seized of the issue and figuring out how to go about it, in Telangana, a subcommittee of ministers has been constituted to look into the issue and decide on ways to enforce social distancing and other norms before re-opening around 40,975 government and private schools in the State.