Schools in Tamil Nadu to reopen for classes 9-12 on September 1; medical colleges to reopen on August 16

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday proposed to resume physical classes for students from classes IX to XII from September 1 and allow re-opening of medical colleges in the State from August 16.

Chief Minister of the State M K Stalin arrived at this decision after reviewing the Covid-19 situation with medical experts in the light of a marginal rise in the cases of late in the State.

The medical experts expressed the need to re-open the schools as the students were experiencing mental pressure since they were confined to their homes for months. This was also creating "learning gaps" in society, the Chief Minister said in a statement.

Further, many children have no access to online education, he said. "Considering the opinion of various sections, it has been proposed to re-start schools for classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 with 50 per cent of students from September 1 in adherence to Covid-19 standard operating procedure," Stalin said.

The Department of School Education has been asked to start preliminary work in this connection, he added.

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Further, medical colleges, institutions of nursing and other related ones can resume functioning from August 16. Students and teachers of these institutions have been already inoculated with Covid vaccines, he said.

To prevent crowding at places of religious worship, the Chief Minister said they would not be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Local bodies should ensure prevention of crowding in the meat and fish markets for which separate shops should be put up, said the Chief Minister.

Commercial establishments must have hand-sanitizers at the entry point and thermal-screen customers besides ensure social distancing, he said. Violation of these regulations would entail action, the Chief Minister said.

To control the pandemic, test-track-treat-vaccination- Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and micro-level management programmes would be implemented, he said. In containment zones, only essential services such as medical services should be allowed while teams would conduct door-to-door checks, he said.

People should avoid venturing out unnecessarily, refrain from crowding and strictly follow Covid protocols, he said. Officials should launch initiatives to create awareness on the coronavirus and take steps to prevent its further spread, he said.