Tamil Nadu government’s latest statement on reopening of schools

The Tamil Nadu government will take a decision on reopening schools in the state after assessing the Covid-19 situation following the relaxation of lockdown curbs, as per the latest statement by the Minister for School Education, Anbil Mahesh.

The admission for Class 11 students started on Monday in 27 districts. The admission process will begin later in 11 districts, including Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthrurai, due to a high caseload of Covid-19. In his statement, the minister said, “The School Education Department only has Kalvi TV now as the medium to reach a large number of students for classes. Connectivity issues prevail at many places but as far as possible, teachers are trying to reach out to students through WhatsApp.”

“Even for those who don’t possess a smartphone, we made necessary arrangements like involving them in initiatives like group studies. We can take a call on reopening the schools only after witnessing how these lockdown relaxations play out. We cannot put all the students in one class, we need to maintain social distancing. Several people from other schools want to enroll their wards in government schools, we need to create a space for that as well,” he added.