Bihar Schools to Reopen from Today, amid strict COVID Guidelines, SOPs - Get Complete Details Here

Bihar School Reopening News: In line with the announcement made by the Bihar State Government, schools, colleges, universities, coaching institutes will reopen from today i.e. 4th January – Monday. Educational institutions are reopening for physical classes after a gap of over 9 months amid strict adherence to COVID Safety Guidelines and SOPs. Schools and colleges in the state were closed in March 2020 after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country and lockdown measures were announced. Since then, educational and academic activities for all students were being held virtually through online classes, radio and television.

Important Guidelines, SOPs to Keep in Mind

With schools slated to open from Today, the state government has provided a detailed set of guidelines and SOPS to ensure safe reopening of educational institutions. After reopening, classes have been allowed to operate only at half the strength of the total students. Education Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar also said that other COVID safety and precautionary measures including compulsory warning of masks and following social distancing will also be adhered by students and staff members.

Masks Distributed among Students

Earlier, the state government had directed the respective district administrations to hold mask distribution drives for students before the reopening of schools in the state. As per the details shared by the School Education Department, there are around 36.61 lakh students enrolled in Class 9 to 12 under the Bihar Board. Of the total number of students, around 3.17 lakh students are based in Patna. All students from Class 9 to 12 will be provided two masks each as part of the reopening process.

Confirming the development, Education Department’s Principal Secretary Mr Sanjay Kumar said that “We have published class wise enrolment list of each district to asses quantity of face masks required at government schools. Based on enrolment figure of last academic year, we have estimated that 36,61,942 students are enrolled in Class 9 to 12 across 38 districts. Each student will get two face masks free of cost which implies more than 73 lakh face masks are required for meeting the need.”