SOPs for reopening of schools & colleges soon, board exams likely in May: Gujarat Govt

The state government of Gujarat will be issuing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) soon for the reopening of schools and colleges in the state. The SOPs will be issued by the state education department as its aiming to reopen the educational institutes in the state soon.

Gujarat education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama held a meeting with all the senior officials on Thursday to finalise the SOPs for the reopening of educational institutes in the state on the order of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

According to several media reports, the state government is preparing to reopen schools and colleges after Diwali. The online classes for schools affiliated to Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) will be resuming from November 18.

The government schools have suspended online classes in Gujarat in view of Diwali. Private schools have also put up their own vacation schedule for their students, but the online classes in most schools in the state are set to resume from November 18.

The colleges and



schools in the state have been closed since March 16 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown. Thus, the academic calendar for a lot of schools has been disturbed during the lockdown period.

The state government has decided to push the conduction of the GSEB Board exams for class 10 and 12 students by two months to help them cope with the studies this year. The board exams will now most likely be held in May.

The education minister will also be meeting the vice-chancellors of the universities in the state through video conferencing to discuss the reopening of higher educational institutes in the state with proper safety measures and sanitation.

The syllabus of students appearing for the board exams in the current academic session has also been reduced by 30 percent as a one time measure due to the academic pressure on students amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The SOPs for reopening schools and colleges in Gujarat will most likely be announced in the next two or three days, as per the state education minister.