Will the schools open this academic year? What if they do not?
With just 6 months remaining for the academic year (2020-2021) to come to an end, the schools across the nation remain closed or partially reopened.
The central government had given a free hand to all the states and union territories to decide on reopening of the educational institutions under their jurisdictions. Accordingly, a majority of the states had reopened the schools for senior classes (9th to 12th); however, some states had to shut down the schools again due to a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.
Here is a state-wise list of the status of schools.
| Union Territory | Primary School | Highschool |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Not open – To be updated | Classes for 9th to 12th started from September 23rd |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Not open – To be updated | To be updated |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Not open – To be updated | Classes for 9th to 12th started from September 21st |
| Lakshadweep | Classes 6th and 7th started from September 21st | Classes for 8th to 12th started from September 21st |
| Chandigarh | Not open – To be updated | Classes for 9th to 12th started from November 2nd |
| The Government of NCT of Delhi | Not open – To be updated | Not open – To be updated |
| Ladakh | Not open – To be updated | To be updated |
| Puducherry | Not open – To be updated | To be updated |
| State | Primary School | Highschool | ||
| Andhra Pradesh | Classes 1 to 5 to be started after Sankranti 2021 | Class 8th to 12th started from November 23 | ||
| Andhra Pradesh | Classes 6 and 7 to be started after December 14 | Class 9 and 10 started on November 2 Intermediate 1st year to be updated and Intermediate 2nd year started from November 2 | ||
| Arunachal Pradesh | To be updated | Class 10 and 12 reopened since November 16 | ||
| Assam | Class 6 and above formally open since November 2 | Class 6 and above formally open since November 2 | ||
| Bihar | To be updated | To be updated | ||
| Chhattisgarh | Not open – To be updated | Not open – To be updated | ||
| Goa | Not open – To be updated | Class 10th and 12th started since November 21st | ||
| Gujarat | Not open – To be updated | Not open – To be updated | ||
| Haryana | Not open – To be updated | Classes 9 to 12 started from November 2 | ||
| Himachal Pradesh | Closed till December 31st | Closed till December 31st | ||
| Jharkhand | Not open – To be updated | Not open – To be updated | ||
| Karnataka | Closed till last week of December | Closed till last week of December | ||
| Kerala | Not open – To be updated | Not open – To be updated | ||
| Madhya Pradesh | Not open – To be updated | Classes for 9th to 12th started from November 14th | ||
| Maharashtra | Not open – To be updated | Classes for 9th to 12th started from November 23rd | ||
| Manipur | To be updated | To be updated | ||
| Meghalaya | To be updated | To be updated | ||
| Mizoram | Not open – To be updated | Classes for 10th and 12th started on 16th October, but closed after increase in COVID-19 cases | ||
| Nagaland | To be updated | To be updated | ||
| Odisha | Closed till last week of December | Closed till last week of December | ||
| Punjab | Not open – To be updated | Classes for 9th to 12th started from October 19th | ||
| Rajasthan | To be updated after November 30th | To be updated after November 30th | ||
| Sikkim | Classes for 3rd to 5th started on November 23rd | Classes started on voluntray basis for class 9th to 12th from October 19 | ||
| Sikkim | Classes for 6th to 8th started on November 2nd | |||
| Tamil Nadu | Not open – To be updated | Not open – To be updated | ||
| Telangana | Not open – To be updated in December | Not open – To be updated in December | ||
| Tripura | Not open – To be updated | Not open – To be updated | ||
| Uttarakhand | Not open – To be updated | Classes for 10th to 12th started from November 2nd | ||
| Uttar Pradesh | Not open – To be updated | Classes for 9th to 12th started from October 19th | ||
| West Bengal | To be updated after November 30th | To be updated after November 30th |
Experts believe that a possible second-wave of the coronavirus might strike the country in mid‑December when the climate gets too cold. It could lead schools to remain closed and force the ones open to shut down again.
Most states have decided not to reopen the schools for now
The government has considered to slash the syllabus and conduct the final exams by the end of the academic year, at least for senior classes. Therefore, studies will continue, and classes will be conducted through virtual platforms.
Here is what we can do: Most of us are already familiar with ‘learn from home’ and some of us have managed to adapt to that. For those who have triumphed over online learning- keep doing what you are doing!!
Others should learn How to Educate Children with Online Learning.
A Few Tips for Working Parents
If parents need to travel to work, and kids are too young to be left unsupervised, here is what we can do:
- Parents could consider work from home (regularly or in turns) if their work permits it.
- Hire a reliable caretaker.
- Create a parenting group with two other families in the neighborhood and work out a schedule to monitor the kids when they are at home. (Why only two more families? – To minimalize the crowd and the risk of infections. Also, it makes the schedule more flexible).
- Consider being part of online webinars and forums that offer guidance on learning from home.
BYJU’s #KeepLearning Initiative
#KeepLearning is one such online initiative by The Times of India in association with BYJU’S.
It is a one-stop platform that helps in solving all the e-learning challenges faced by teachers, students, and parents. The platform is free to access and useful for parents, teachers, and students. It allows everyone to participate in webinars, discussion forums, and access a variety of contents designed by subject matter experts in various fields. Registered users can also connect with experts across multiple domains like child psychology, ophthalmology, career counseling, education system, etc.
For more details register @ Keep Learning Initiative
The #KeepLearning initiative focuses on:
•Addressing the parenting challenges during the COVID-19.
•Updates about school curriculum during COVID-19 and beyond.
•Addressing concerns with screen times.
•Transition from blackboards to digital screens.
•Decoding the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP).
•Enabling online learning.
•Guiding parents, teachers, and students through technology and more…
