PESHAWAR: The schools for the students of up to 8th grade and universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will reopen on Monday after remaining closed for over two months due to second weave of coronavirus pandemic.

The elementary and secondary education department has directed all the government and private primary and middle schools to strictly observe standard operating procedures for the protection of the students and teachers.

All the educational institutions were closed on November 26 across the province owing to severity in the second weave of Covid-19 as per decision taken by the federal and provincial education ministries.

The government and private sector high and higher secondary schools and colleges have already resumed educational activities from January 19 after a break of one and a half months. In the first phase of the pandemic, all educational institutions were closed in March 2020 that gradually reopened from September30.

As per instructions of the government, proper distance would be maintained between the chairs and desks of the students in the classrooms, a headmaster of a higher secondary school told Dawn.

“The students would be divided into two groups if their numbers in classrooms is more than 30,” he said, adding that each group would come to school on alternate day.

Similarly, he said, students would be asked to wash hands and use sanitizers and proper armaments were made in the schools in that connection. He said that students of grade 9th to grade 12th were attending classes since January 19 by observing all SOPs.

An official in elementary and secondary education department told Dawn that different teams were set up at district and sub-divisional level to pay surprise visits to the schools to ensure observance of SOPs.

“Where possible, create space for children’s desk to be at least one meter apart,” said the SOPs issued by education department. Avoid body contact sports, ensure “no touch policy” and avoid “hand games” which involve children touching each other’s hands, say the SOPs. Do not share food or drink from the same cup and encourage children to bring their own food.

The education department has instructed the schools to stop selling of cooked as well as junk food inside and outside the schools. It has issued instructions to the schools to make arrangements of temperature checking at the entrance of the schools and any child or staff with temperature more than 99-degree Fahrenheit should not be allowed to enter the school.

Ensure school cleaning on daily basis with proper waste management practices and arrange orientation of the students as well as parents on new school protocols including school opening and closing, it says.

Staff and students should wear face masks and encourage hand washing at multiple times during the day and help children from age seven to seven year in hand washing and hygiene practices.

Maintain physical distancing and respiratory hygiene amongst students and staff and avoid group gatherings such as assembly and clustering of children during recess, says the education department.

It has also instructed the schools to establish a no-tolerance policy for parents and students, who do not follow recommendations of cloth masks, hand washing and physical distancing.

Exposed or symptomatic students should be sent off for at least seven days. The students, who test positive for the virus, and their class group should be sent off for at least 14 days. The school management or assigned faculty member should liaise with the government’s health authorities.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2021