Chandigarh schools to hold online classes

Deepankar Sharda

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 6

Hours before the UT Administration ordered the closure of local schools amid a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases, private schools had decided to conduct online classes.

This morning, a majority of school managements informed their students about the decision to conduct online classes till January 15. Further decision (whether to continue with the online mode or not) will be taken after considering the status of Covid-19 cases in Chandigarh.

According to the UT Administration orders, all educational institutions, including schools, colleges, universities and coaching institutions, will remain closed till further orders. These institutions will maintain the academic schedule through online teaching.

Though the Independent Schools Association (ISA), Chandigarh, has not taken any decision officially, it has been conveyed to schools to start online classes to prevent loss of studies.

“The ISA has not taken any decision officially. However, we have conveyed to schools to conduct online classes amid a surge in the number of cases. Closing schools will definitely cost studies and we don’t want it. The UT Administration had earlier ordered both offline and online classes, and in such scenarios, online classes are a better option than the closure of schools,” said HS Mamik, president, ISA. Meanwhile, many schools have informed their students to prepare their set-up for attending online classes. “The students have been informed about the online classes. Owing to a sudden rise in the number of cases, we had decided to start online classes after winter vacation (January 4). We are equally worried about our teachers and students’ health. Most parents have also raised concerns,” said a schoolteacher.

Uncertainty over PU Senate meeting

With the Administration issuing fresh Covid guidelines, there is uncertainty over the Panjab University Senate meeting scheduled for January 8. According to the guidelines, gathering for any purpose should be restricted to 50 persons for indoor and 100 persons for outdoor events. However, the number of persons shall not exceed 50 per cent of the capacity in both indoor and outdoor gatherings. The Senate meeting, which is scheduled to be held after two years owing to the pandemic, is expected to be attended by more than 85 members and other officials. It is scheduled to be held at Panjab University Senate Hall. The current weather conditions will also be a challenge to overcome if the authorities plan to conduct the meeting outdoors. However, sources claimed that no decision had been taken on postponing the meeting, till the filing of this report.

Sports complexes closed for general public

As reported on January 4 in these columns, the Administration has ordered the closure of sports complexes, including swimming pools, for the general public. All sports complexes (except for non-body contact games), swimming pools and gyms will remain closed, except for being used for training of sports persons for participation in national/international events as well as for organising national/international games. No spectator or visitor is allowed in these sports complexes.