PANAJI
More than eighteen months after students have been kept away from their campuses in the pandemic, the Goa government is expected to take a final call early this week on restarting physical academic work in schools.
Some other States, including neighbouring Maharashtra, have already decided to commence physical classes in schools, and last week, the State's Task Force on Covid had given its okay for reopening campuses.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, however, had said that a final call will be taken after consulting the 'expert committee' after the task force had opined that the Covid situation is under control and conditions are fine to reopen schools.
The order issued last weekend by the Revenue Secretary, Sanjay Kumar, IAS, which had lifted the State-wide curfew imposed in May, had also mentioned that schools may re-open subject to separate standard operating procedures (SOPs) by the Directorate of Education (DoE).
A top DoE official, however, told The Goan, that no instructions have been received from the government as yet on the issue.
In school campuses across the State, managements are readying infrastructure and preparing students for the impending re-commencing of physical classes through special talks via the online mode.
Some city schools have already told the students that the second term examination scheduled in mid-October will in all probability be held in the physical mode in the school classrooms.
Meanwhile, Sawant is expected to convene a meeting of an expert panel and education department officials on Monday to consider the opinion of the State's Task Force on Covid which has suggested that high schools and higher secondary schools be permitted to begin physical classes from the first week of October.
The meeting will also draw up the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the schools and also other protocols to conduct classes at separate times of the day for different classes to ensure social distancing is possible.
Educationists and experts are worried that the delay in commencing physical classes any further could contribute to irreversible damage including the 'knowledge gap' for a generation.
Recently, UNICEF India had begun lobbying with governments to reopen schools as early as possible and has warned of a "generational catastrophe".
"Our message is clear: Governments must prioritize the safe reopening of schools to avoid generational catastrophe. #ForEveryChild, education," UNICEF India had said.
Some Indian States, including Delhi and Telangana, had already begun sending children back to schools from September 1. And now, Maharashtra has decided to open schools from October 4.
Schools in Goa are currently conducting all academic work since the current academic year began again in the online mode like last year.
