Schools, colleges may reopen in July

Schools, colleges may reopen in July

Chief Minister says State will wait for Centre’s instructions

02/06/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Monday that the government would consider reopening of schools and educational institutions and resumption of campus life only in July.

The Centre said it would issue guidelines for the recommencement of campus education and allied academic activities after the first phase of the staggered lockdown relaxation ended on June 30. Kerala awaited the strictures, he said at his daily media briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the State. Mr. Vijayan said students who had missed the online classes on June 1 should not worry.

Repeat sessions

Teachers would repeat the sessions on the Victers channel and other online platforms. The government had put 1,20,000 laptops, 7,000 projectors and a large number of televisions to help educators take learning to children.

He said school and college teachers should ensure that online teaching benefited all sections of students. They could organise special classes for students with limited access to cable TV and online platforms of learning.

He said 99.92% of students appeared for the SSLC examination. The percentage of attendance for higher secondary and vocational higher Secondary examinations were 98.3 and 98.92 % respectively.

Low-interest loans

The Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE) would set up neighbourhood study centres for children without access to smartphones, television sets, or the Internet. The KSFE would also give low-interest loans to members of the Kudumbashree Mission to purchase laptop computers. Only those women who were members of the KSFE micro-chit scheme would be eligible for the loan.

Mr. Vijayan encouraged philanthropists and businesses to sponsor remote learning centres for underprivileged children in tandem with the KSFE.