Assam plans to reopen schools for Class X & XII students by June 15

GUWAHATI: The Assam government is set to reopen educational institutes for resuming the academic session by June 15. However, only students of Classes X and XII can avail of this opportunity for now.
"We are planning to reopen schools for Class X and XII, if not June 1 then by June 15. Today, we have successfully completed the free distribution of books to Class XII students," education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Sarma added that the daily rise in Covid-19 cases in the state is due to the large flow of people arriving from outside the state and attributed 90% of the cases to have been imported. He said the cases are likely to come down "after June 15 when the flow of people from outside will start thinning."
On Monday, Sarma had set June 30 as the homecoming cutoff date and said the state government wants to wrap up the process of receiving home-bound people of the state from outside and their subsequent quarantine so that it can shift its entire focus on managing the floods from July.
"We are waiting for the guidelines from the Government of India. But whatever may be the guidelines, we will go through them and try to restore the normal academic life of students. We have finalized the blueprint and we will announce it at any moment," he added.
According to the blueprint, even if the lockdown is extended and educational institutes are asked to remain closed, the state might exempt students of classes X and XII to prepare them for their board examinations next year.
'Class X, XII students can attend school near residence'
Himanta said, "Class X and XII students can attend classes at the college or school near their present place of stay. Suppose a student studying in Guwahati is now at his or her home in another district. The student need not travel back to his or her place of study and can join classes wherever they are located now,"
Accordingly, teachers on location can attend the nearest college or institute.
The state education department has already declared the month of May as summer vacation in all education institutions. The department is also seeking opinion on extending the current academic calendar by three months to March 31, 2021 instead of December 31, 2020, which will ensure that students do not face the loss due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Almost all states start their academic calendar in April and end it in March but in Assam, it starts in January and ends in December.