When will schools, colleges reopen in Tamil Nadu

Chennai, Dec 07: The Tamil Nadu government has issued a detailed standard operating procedure for conducting classes as colleges prepare to reopen for final year undergraduate and medical students. The medical colleges in the state for both UG and PG students open today after 9 months.

The government had said that colleges and universities will be allowed to function from December 7.

Classes for programmes other than medicine, arts and science, engineering, agriculture and fisheries will continue online.

Colleges and hostels within containment zones will not be allowed to conduct classroom sessions.

Teachers and students from containment zones should also not attend the classes. Institutions will have to prepare a plan to handle the gathering of students, following all safety measures, including disinfection.

No more than half the total students' strength should be present in the class at any time and students can visit their respective departments in small numbers for consultation after seeking prior permission.

The in-person class will be voluntary. College should continue to facilitate education iii distance mode.

The teaching hours can be extended to ensure safety measures are followed.

The attendance has been kept optional. The number of students allowed to be seated in a classroom has been limited and the college authorities have to ensure notices at prominent places informing students about basic hygiene measures to be followed.

Meanwhile, the CISCE has requested the Chief Ministers of states and UTs to allow partial opening of Classes X and XII from January 4.

With the students physically attending school, the time will be utilised for practical work, project work and for doubt clearing lessons. This will be extremely beneficial to the students who will now get the time to interact directly with their teachers," Gerry Arathoon, chief executive and secretary of CISCE said in a press release.

Schools will be told to follow the directives of the state government regarding Covid-19 and conform to standard operating procedures and safety guidelines, the release also said.

The CISCE also requested the chief election commissioner of India to share poll dates of states that have elections scheduled in April and May 2021 so the CISCE can finalise schedules for ICSE, Class X and ISC Class XII exams so students don't face any interruption of examination or inconvenience.