Thiruvananthapuram: The state general education department on Wednesday issued fresh guidelines on the functioning of schools in the wake of the spike in COVID-19 cases.
Last week, the Kerala government had decided to shut schools for classes 1 to 9 for two weeks starting January 21.
Despite the Test Positivity Rate crossing 30% over the last couple of days, the government has decided to go ahead with offline classes for students in 10th, plus-one and plus-two.
Meanwhile, all teachers have been directed to reach the schools even if offline classes do not take place.
If clusters emerge in secondary/higher secondary/vocational higher secondary schools, the institutions should be closed for two weeks.
Kerala on Wednesday reported 34,199 fresh cases with the TPR reading 37.2%. It was the highest daily tally recorded since May 14 last year.
KITE-Victers to release fresh timetable
Digital classes will continue on KITE-Victers, the state government's educational channel. A fresh timetable will be published soon, a government order said.
School managements have been instructed to ensure that students of classes 1-9 are equipped with gadgets required to continue their education in the online mode.
"The digital platform must be used for effective communication with parents," states the order.
The worksheets prepared by Samagra Shiksha and SCERT are to be used.
School Resource Groups (SRG) must be convened to evaluate the progress of students and to provide feedback. The progress must be fed into the students' profile and it must be updated regularly by the class teacher.
Encourage reading habits
The schools have been instructed to encourage reading habits in students. Steps must be taken to ensure students get suitable books. Digital platforms must be used for discussions on the books.
Initiatives are to be taken to promote the talents of students.
If students face difficulties with lessons, special counselling programmes may be conducted with the help of parents to ease the pressure.
Teachers and principals should take effective steps to support students with special needs.
