The decision on reopening of schools in the state will be taken according to the guidelines of the Centre and ground reality in Manipur as well as opinions and suggestions gathered from the public, state Education Minister Thokchom Radheshyam Singh said. Currently, he said, there is no room for reopening of schools until the COVID-19 situation is over since human lives are more important than education.
The education minister who is also labour and employment minister, made the statement while he was briefing the media on Saturday at the secretariat after launching the website www.mssd.in to conduct skill mapping exercise of the citizens of Manipur who have returned to the state.
The minister said that there is no room for reopening of schools until the COVID-19 situation is over since human lives are more important than education.
Regarding the fear of incomplete syllabus for students in the state, the department is preparing a road map in consultation with parents, school authorities and other stakeholders, he informed.
The government is also exploring all options possible so that even schools having many students can continue their classes by maintaining social distancing even after the lockdown is over, he said. It is a big challenge to maintain social distancing for schools with large numbers of students even if they are to be reopened, he added.
The issue of salary for staff and non-teaching staff for the private schools will be managed by the school authority, parents and the teachers, he informed. However, the state government has to intervene if all the parties cannot come to an agreement.
Private schools should not put any pressure on the students as well as the parents during the lockdown since they are already under pressure, he said
Radheshyam said there is no question of not promoting the students till class 8 standard even if examination is not conducted since Right to Education Act directs that all the students till class 8 should be given promotion.
On Saturday, the Manipur government has notified that it is conducting skill mapping of the COVID-19 returnees of the state through the Manipur Society for Skill Development (MSSD) under the department of Labour and Employment.
A notification issued by mission director, MSSD, Manipur, Kh Diana Devi stated that COVID-19 returnees could register their skill data on the website www.mssd.in and the collected data shall facilitate the government in policy making through discussions with key stakeholders.
The collected data shall be made available to any private establishment looking for engaging in workforce, through a formal application to mission director, MSSD, it mentioned.
