Schools in Goa to reopen for Classes 10 and 12 from November 21 onwards

The decision to reopen the school was taken after consulting the parents, teachers and school management, the Minister said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has announced that schools across the state will be reopened for Classes 10 and 12 from November 21 onwards with strict COVID-19 safety guidelines.

While speaking to the reporters, the chief minister said the state government had taken into confidence all stakeholders before deciding on the resumption of school for Classes 10 and 12.

"We have reviewed the situation, and it was a unanimous decision that from November 21 schools for standards 10 and 12 will resume with all SOPs in place," he said, adding that the decision will be communicated to all schools.

The decision to reopen the school was taken after consulting the parents, teachers and school management, it was stated.

Earlier, Mr Sawant said he has asked the state education secretary and director of education to hold consultations with stakeholders, including school management, parent-teacher associations and teachers' bodies such as the Goa Headmasters' Association and Goa Principals' Forum. The decision to reopen schools will be taken only after getting approvals from all the stakeholders and putting necessary Standard Operating Procedures in place, he said.

Mr Sawant had held consultations with the stakeholders in the last week of September, and it was then decided that schools will not reopen immediately from October 1. As part of the Unlock 5.0 guidelines, states have been asked to decide on reopening schools from October 15. Mr Sawant said the Goa Government is thinking of starting classes for students of Class 10 and Class 12 first, if and when it decides to reopen schools. Teachers' associations opposed the immediate reopening of schools during a meeting with Director of Education Santosh Amonkar, sources said.

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