Unlock 5: MHA Expands Guidelines to Reopen Schools, Universities
New Delhi:
The Union Ministry of the Interior (MHA) issued an order on Tuesday, October 27, to extend the MHA’s unblocking guidelines for the reopening of schools and universities until the end of November. Now, the school’s reopening guidelines, posted on September 30, will remain in effect until November 30. There are no new changes to the latest guidelines and all major activities have already been allowed, but the strict lockdown will continue in the containment zones, he said.
The Unlock 5 guidelines that were released in September to October stated that for the reopening of schools and training institutions, the states and territories of the Union had the flexibility to make the decision to reopen their institutions in a phased manner. After which, some of the states have opened schools after a six-month period, while many have yet to reopen.
State governments and administrations of the Union territories have been allowed to make decisions for the reopening of schools and other educational institutions, based on the assessment of the situation and subject to SOP. These include schools and training institutes and state and private universities for research scholars that allow meetings above the 100 limit. The MHA guidelines also stated that online and distance learning will continue to be the preferred mode of teaching and will be encouraged. .
The latest guidelines on unlocking have also asked people to be extremely cautious and follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Jan Aandolan launch earlier this month to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Almost all activities have gradually opened up in areas outside the containment zones. While most activities have been allowed, some that involve large gatherings have been allowed with some restrictions and are subject to standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding health and safety precautions that are followed. In accordance with the revised MHA guidelines, academic congregations and other similar congregations will be allowed in enclosed spaces with a maximum of 50 percent of the room capacity and subject to a maximum limit of 200 people.
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