Nagaland Announced SOP for Reopening of Educational Institutions

KOHIMA: 

On 17th July, the Nagaland government has announced the third phase of 'unlocking,' which will begin on July 18 and go through August 1, according to news agency PTI. The government has permitted higher-secondary schools and colleges to resume on July 26 as part of a progressive relaxation of restrictions. This is despite the fact that the state's overall positive percentage remains above 10%. 

Today, the government of Nagaland announced Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for reopening of schools for students of Classes 11 and 12. 

According to the order issued, all teaching and non-teaching personnel must be vaccinated with at least one dose before to doing so. If the vaccine is not administered, they will be required to provide a Covid-19 negative report every 15 days. However, no equivalent standard has been established for students. 

The maximum attendance of students in any class on a particular day should be 50%. 

All colleges and schools planning to reopen must submit all the list of all the teaching/non-teaching staff along with their vaccination status. The government has also required any school or college that want to reopen to seek permission from their relevant DTF.

The educational institutions shall continue with the present system of online teaching while making preparations and awaiting clearance from the DTF for reopening of the institutions for regular classes. 

General preventive measures and COVID-19 appropriate behavior are to be strictly followed:

Physical distancing of at least 6 feet to be followed.

Face masks have been made mandatory. Frequent washing of hands with soaps for 40-60 seconds even if hands are not visibly dirty. Use of alcohol based hand sanitizers for at least 20 seconds whenever feasible.

Respiratory antiquates to be strictly follows which involves strict practice of covering one nose/mouth while sneezing or coughing using handkerchief/tissues and then disposing the tissues properly.

Self monitoring of health by all and reporting any illness at the earliest. Spitting shall be strictly prohibited. 

Installation and use of Aarogya Setu app wherever feasible. 

Measures required before re-opening of campuses

The directions laid out by the State Government must be strictly followed by the instituions that want to reopen for classes. The instituions shall be allowed to open only if they are outside the containment zones. Further students and staffs falling in such zones wont be allowed to attend these institutions. The faculty, staff and students must download Aarogya Setu App. The institution should be ready to handle the inflow of students. The staff and faculty members must oversee the implemetation of COVID-friendly behavior in order to curb the transmission of the deadly infectious virus. 

Educational institutes may open in phases. With such activities where they can easily adhere to social distancing, use of mask and other protective measures. This may include admin offices, research labs and libraries, etc. 

Research, post grad and final year students may be allowed to attend classes considering they are less in number. 

Some students may opt to continue online classes rather than being physically present for classes. 

Institutional Planning 

Advance planning of the phases of classes along with complete roster for all departments and batches of students in different programs. Instead of biometric attendance, alternate arrangement for contactless attendance shall be made for everyone by the management. ID cards shall be mandatory for staff, students, officers and teachers. The faculty, students and staff should be screened regularly to detect cases and curb  the spread of the infectious disease. Teaching hours in a day may be extended according to the institution. Six day classes may be followed so that classes can be conducted in phases. Class sizes should be reduced and broken down to ensure social distancing. Visitors should either not be allowed at all or their entries should be drastically restricted. There should be adequate isolation arrangements for those showing symptoms and for those who tests positive for COVID-19. 

Safety Measures and Entry/Exit Points

Adequate arrangements of thermal scanner, sanitizers, face masks should be made available at entry and exit points. Pulse oximeter to check oxygen saturation levels of any symptomatic persons shall be arranged. Crowding must be avoided at these points. Staggered timings of entry and exit with limited strength for different programs should be followed. 

Also Read - Nagaland to Re-Open High Schools and Colleges Despite High COVID-19 Positivity Rate

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