Thiruvananthapuram: General Education Minister V Sivankutty brushed aside speculations that his department was not consulted before the state government announced its decision to reopen schools from November 1.
A COVID-review meeting on Saturday that was chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided to reopen offline classes for grades 1-7 and 10th and 12th standards from November 1 and for students in the other grades from November 15.
Addressing media persons on Sunday, minister Sivankutty said that ministerial-level meetings had been ongoing in this regard for the past week.
“I met the health minister yesterday and a meeting of the two departments will take place in two days, in which a detailed action plan will be prepared,” said Sivankutty.
“Some schools have as many as 7,000 pupils. In the coming days, the general education department will hold meetings with teachers' associations regarding the managing of shifts. Besides, a meeting of district collectors will also take place soon,” the minister said while calling for support from parents in making the reopening plan a success.
Kerala to set an example
The minister said that Kerala aims to set an example in the country by opening schools.
“We had concerns before the SSLC exams and the higher secondary exams. But things went smoothly. After the High Court gave its approval, the Supreme Court also nodded approval for the conduct of plus-one exams.
"We want to set an example in India by opening up schools,” said Sivankutty, adding that in case of setbacks, the government was willing for course correction.
