Rajasthan allows re-opening of schools for classes 9-12 with 50% capacity from Sept 1

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government on Thursday allowed the reopening of schools from classes 9-12 with 50 per cent capacity September 1 onward. 

Teaching and non-teaching staff need to mandatorily have taken at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine 14 days prior, state government said. 

However, classes will be conducted in online mode for students of classes 1 to 8.

According to the official notification, all government and private schools for classes 9 to 12, universities, colleges and coaching institutes will reopen from September 1 in Rajasthan.

The educational institutes were closed due to lockdown in view of the second wave of the coronavirus in April this year.

According to the guidelines issued by the Home department, all the teaching and non-teaching staff of coaching institutes should be fully vaccinated (completed both doses of COVID-19 vaccine) whereas the drivers and others providing transport facility to teaching and non teaching staff of school/colleges/ universities should get at least first dose of vaccine.

The students who attend regular class will have to submit written consent from parents/guardians and no student will be forced to attend offline class. The facility of online classes will continue for those who do not attend the regular classes, the notification read.

No morning assembly will be allowed in schools whereas all other guidelines related to COVID-19 for maintaining social distancing and hygiene will have to be followed, it said.

The students will be allowed to enter the premises after screening for COVID-19.

The state government had formed a ministerial committee for holding discussions about the reopening of schools. The committee recently submitted its report with recommendations to the chief minister following which the decision was taken.

Meanwhile, seventeen more people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Rajasthan, bringing the infection count to 9,53,887 on Thursday. The death toll from the pandemic remained unchanged at 8,954 in Rajasthan as no fatality due to COVID-19 was recorded in the last 24 hours.