The and education minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has recently announced that the elementary schools in the state will be reopened from January 1, 2021, in a staggered manner because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

He stated that the staggered system of attendance of different classes will be withdrawn with regular classes at all levels resuming from the start of the new year. However, wearing of masks, use of sanitisers and social distancing will continue to remain in place.

Sarma announced the reopening of elementary schools in a press conference at Janata Bhawan in Guwahati, according to media reports, where he stated that the Covid-19 situation in the state is under control.

According to a tweet by ANI, Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that the elementary schools in Assam will reopen from January 1, 2021, in a staggered manner. The detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the same will also be released.

As of now, a total of 981 people have died because of the Covid-19 pandemic in Assam, the education minister informed. He also said that Assam has registered a total of 2,12,617 Covid-19 cases out of which 2,08,283 have recovered from the disease.

College hostels to reopen from Dec 15

The education minister, while talking about the reopening of educational institutes in Assam, said that the college hostels in the state will reopen from December 15 with several Covid-19 safety guidelines set into place.

The hostels across the state will open with certain limitations for the safety of the students, according to the minister, and only final year students will be allowed to enter the hostels initially to prevent overcrowding.

The health and education minister further stated that some instructions regarding the cleaning and preparing of hostels that were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic have also been issued to the college and university principals.

The schools and colleges in Assam had been closed for eight months now due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The educational institutes in Assam were formally reopened in November with several Covid-19 safety guidelines for the safety of students.