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For city students, study from home to

continue; schools will open in rural
areas from July 1
/ Jun 16, 2020, 06.00 AM IST

REPRESENTATIONAL PIC: The SoP recommends an odd-even formula for attendance, so that students can attend
classes on alternate days
The Maharashtra government has rolled out a standard operating procedure (SoP)
for reopening schools in the state with conditions, and has advocated localised
planning at the district and school levels. Schools will open in the state in a
staggered manner from July 1 in villages and areas where there is zero Covid case
for a month. Mirror reported on the staggered school reopening schedule last
Saturday. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray approved the proposal from the school
education department on Monday.
The government has told the corporations to decide the date of school reopening
based on the Covid situation in their respective city or town.

For Mumbai, BMC will issue an independent protocol based on the government
guidelines. “We have two districts (Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban). The civic
administration will have to identify Covid-free areas, where schools can start as per
the schedule given by the state. The school management committee will deliberate
with the higher civic authorities and the corporation will declare the protocol for
Mumbai,” BMC education officer Mahesh Palkar said.
Kandivali firm loses Rs 35 lakh to cyber fraud; money transferred in 60
different transactions
Samta Nagar police are on the lookout for an unknown cybercriminal who allegedly
got illegal access to the login ID and password

Schools can conduct classes in two shifts, and one shift cannot run for more than
three hours. In Mumbai, schools already run two shifts due to space constraints.
However, Palkar said since the shifts have been capped at three hours, it is possible
to operate schools in three shifts.

The SoP recommends an oddeven formula for attendance, so that students can attend
classes on alternate days. To observe social distancing, there should be only one
student per bench or 20 to 30 students per class with a distance of one metre
between one another. Extra classrooms can be utilised after cleaning and sanitising
to spread out the students.

For containment zones, which abound in Mumbai, learning and teaching from home
and self-learning are the new pedagogical methods for the lockdown period.

Students are expected to study on their own with available textbooks, online
material or television channel and clear their doubts from the teacher on phone.
While virtual education has been banned till class 2, the government has limited it to
one hour for class 3 to 5, two hours for class 6 to 8 and three hours for 9 to 12.

Corporations have been asked to provide free WiFi in different areas to facilitate
online learning. The have also been told to roll out a pilot project to provide tabs or
SD cards pre-loaded with the year’s syllabus to students.
40-year-old man from Thane flees home after testing positive
Chitalsar Manpada police in Thane are searching for a 40-year-old man who fled
after testing positive for Covid-19. The police registered a criminal case against him
on Sunday.

“BMC has been giving tabs to students of class 8, 9 and 10 for years. We already
have this scheme in place,” Palkar said. The corporations in Thane and Navi
Mumbai are planning to follow suit.

Teachers who went to their villages before the lockdown have been asked to obtain
travel passes and return to their locations of work. For distribution of textbooks,
parents are to be called to the schools in batches.

CISCE offers students choice on board exams

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which
conducts ICSE (class 10) and ISC (class 12) exams, said in an official statement on
Monday that students can opt out of appearing for the pending board papers, which
are slated in July. The students have to inform their respective schools of their
choice. If they opt out, they will be marked for the pending subjects based on their
performance in previous school exams. The Council has already called for marks of
the preliminary or pre-board exams from schools. However, for some reason the
exams cannot be conducted in July, then results will be declared based on past
performance in the remaining subjects. “As soon as we receive a circular from the
Council, we will send it to parents along with an undertaking seeking the option
they choose,” said Francis Swamy, principal, St Mary’s School, Mazgaon.