News Analysis India

Tag: UP schools

  • Uttar Pradesh reopens schools for primary students

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: All the primary schools (class I to V) in Uttar Pradesh reopened on Wednesday for regular physical classes with Covid appropriate measures.

    Normalcy returned on Wednesday morning when the tiny tots were seen going to schools with bags on their back and mask on the face.

    As per the guidelines issued by the state government, the classes will be held in two shifts — morning and evening– and only 50% of children would attend one shift.

    At the same time, the private school administrations have sought permission from the parents to send their children to schools. The private schools have been holding both the online and offline classes simultaneously for the students as many parents have not given their consent to send the children to school for physical classes.

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    The primary schools have reopened after 17 months. They were closed during the first Covid wave. However, online classes continued during this entire period.

    As per basic education officer Vijay Pratap Singh, students were called in clean uniforms with two sets of masks and a dish of their own for mid-day meals in government schools.

    The parents were duly informed about all the precautions to be taken by them while sending the children at the parents-teachers meetings held prior to the reopening of the schools.

    In all the schools, both private and government, the management was seen adhering to the Covid protocol in the morning shift. All arrangements including thermal scanning, pulse oxymetre, and social distancing were in place.

    Many schools had made the seating arrangement for only 20 students in a classroom. However, many prominent private schools continued with the online classes only and had postponed the re-opening.

  • UP govt bans any hike in school fees for academic year 2021-2022

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has banned any increase in school fees across all the boards for the upcoming academic session (2021-2022) owing to the coronavirus pandemic situation, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said on Thursday.

    Sharma, who also holds the portfolio of Secondary Education department, in a statement said many families are affected economically due to the COVID-19 second wave and schools are physically closed while online classes are going on.

    “Keeping this in mind, the government has taken a balanced decision so that the common man does no have to bear extra load and also schools could provide salaries to teachers and other staff,” he said.

    The Deputy CM said schools can take fees in accordance with the arrangements they had for the 2019-20 session as the fees was not hiked last year also due to the similar situation during the first wave.

    “Those who have taken hiked fees in this academic session should adjust it in future and also no transportation fees should be charged for the days that the schools are closed,” he ordered.

    Sharma also said if parents are not able to pay three months advance fees, they should be given an option to pay monthly and should not be forced to pay in one instalment itself.

    He said activities like computer, sports, science laboratory, library, annual function related fees should also not be charged on the students.

    “If the parents of a student are suffering from COVID-19, their current month’s fees could be adjusted in the next month’s fees on their written request,” Sharma said.

    Schools should regularly make payments to teachers and their staff, he further said.

  • Schools for students up to Class 8 closed till April 11 in UP

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday extended to April 11 the closure of all schools for students up to Class 8, amid a spike in coronavirus cases in the state, according to an official.

    Earlier, the government had shut schools for students up to Class 8 till March 31.

    Uttar Pradesh reported 2,600 new COVID-19 cases and nine fatalities on Thursday, pushing the state’s infection tally to 6,19,783 and the death toll to 8,820, according to a health department bulletin.

    Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued the fresh directions during a review meeting at his 5-Kalidas Marg residence here.

    He has directed the closure of schools for students up to Class 8 till April 11, an official spokesperson said, adding that authorities have been ordered to ensure all COVID-19 protocols are followed for other classes.

    During this period, teachers will continue to go to schools for administrative work while education activities will not be there, the chief minister said.

    Adityanath asked officials to reactivate COVID-19 hospitals and give a report to him by evening in this regard.

    He directed for special alertness in Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Ghaziabad and Agra.

    Of the fresh cases on Thursday, the highest of 935 cases were reported from Lucknow followed by 242 from Allahabad, 198 from Varanasi and 103 from Kanpur Nagar, the bulletin had said.

    Adityanath also asked officials to increase coverage of vaccination against COVID-19 in the state.

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  • Covid resurgence: UP govt scraps annual exams, promotes 1.6 crore students to next level

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: In the wake of the increasing number of Covid cases, the Yogi Adityanath government has promoted over 1.6 crore students of Class I to Class VIII in the state without making them appear for annual examinations.

    The state government scrapped annual examinations in about 1.3 lakh primary schools. The exams scheduled for March 25 and 26 were cancelled and schools were closed for the Holi holidays till March 31 owing to the surge of Covid cases in about 65 districts.

    Active Covid cases doubled in the state during the last six days with 55% of the cases surfacing in nine districts led by state capital Lucknow.

    During the last 24 hours, the state registered 836 fresh cases with four persons died of Covid.

    The state government had declared the closure of primary schools in March last year. They were reopened on February 10 (for Class V to VIII) and March 1 (for classes I to IV) after nearly a year.

    The Director General of Primary Education Vijay Kiran Anand said that the new session of Class 1 to VIII would begin from April 1. A decision on holding offline or online classes would be taken shortly after assessing the Covid situation.

    A letter to the principals of all government and private schools directed them to promote students of Class 1 to VIII to the next level.

    The DG, however, said that a performance-based assessment of students would be done in April last. “But no student will be denied promotion to the next level under the Right to Education Act,” he added.

    Promotion to students for Class IX to XI will be given only after holding annual examinations. The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Dinesh Sharma has already announced to reschedule UP Board examinations in view of three-tier Panchayat polls.