COVID-19 news: Schools in West Bengal reopen for classes 9-12 amid strict protocols

Schools across West Bengal reopened on Tuesday (November 16) after remaining shut for one-and-a-half years amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Online classes for the students of standards 9, 10, 11 and 12 reopened. However, the West Bengal education department is yet to decide on the resumption of classes for junior students.

“As our surrounding world is inching towards normalcy, schools are opening their gates for students once again. My love and wishes to dear students; study well and maintain safety protocols,” state minister Partha Chatterjee tweeted.

Most schools in Kolkata and the other districts of West Bengal undertook a massive sanitisation drive and put in place COVID-19 protocols that all students, teachers and non-teaching staff will have to follow.

“We have put up signages directing students and teachers on do’s and don'ts on the Covid protocols. Outside each classroom there is a sanitiser placed and students will have to undergo temperature checks and sanitise their hands at the entry into the school,” said Lt. Col Brij Bhushan Singh (Retd), Principal, The Bhawanipur Education Society School.

A few schools in Kolkata have also set up isolation rooms in case a student or a teacher shows signs of feeling unwell or body temperature above normal.

“We have set up an isolation room where we can keep the students and teachers to wait in case if they show temperature. The idea is to prevent them from coming in contact with others if they show any symptoms of Covid-19. We can have them picked up by their family members,” added Singh.