Pune: 66 Municipal, 22 Private Schools Reopen, 23220 Parents Give Consent Letters
Mrunal Jadhav
Pune, January 4, 2021: Not all schools in the city could be inspected by the municipality due to Coronavirus pandemic. Also, many schools remain closed as the reports of Covid-19 test of teachers are not received yet. However, on the first day, from today, 66 municipal and 22 private schools have been allowed to start.
The state government has approved to reopen schools for classes IX to XII. Schools were started all over the state, but schools in Pune could not be started. Earlier, the decision to start school was postponed twice. However, for the third time, the municipal administration said that schools in the city would start from January 4.
Parents’ consent is necessary before starting schools. The process of getting consent from parents from private schools and municipal schools is still going on. Sanitation, thermal guns, oximeters, classroom seating arrangements are planned in the schools. But the school has not been allowed to start as the teachers’ Covid-19 test report has not been received yet.
The schools are being inspected by a team of Assistant Administrative Officers and Health Officers of the Pune Municipal Corporation’s education board. Till Sunday (January 3), out of 529 schools, 232 schools have been inspected in the city which included 44 municipal schools and 188 private schools. Amongst this 100 Municipal Corporation and 22 private schools have been permitted to start from Monday, said PMC Additional Commissioner Suresh Jagtap.
Most of the schools and junior colleges in the city for classes IX to XII are English medium. Schools were closed last week because of the Christmas holidays. Therefore, the PMC team could not go there and investigate. As the schools are now reopened the inspection will be held. School teachers will be tested for Covid-19 and then the school will get permission to start within the next week, the Municipal Corporation officials said.
Consent letter from 23,220 parents
Parents must submit consent before sending students to school. So far, 23,220 parents have given their consent. 2,213 teachers and 842 teaching staff have submitted the report of the Covid-19 test. The report of 13 teachers and 7 teaching staff has been positive.
