By Our Correspondent, Sarlahi, Aug 27: Schools of Sarlahi district have resumed in-person classes after the District Administration Office (DAO) gave permission to do so.

A few days ago, the office had given permission to reopen the schools on the condition that they allow only 33 per cent of the total students to sit in their classrooms at a time.

Although schools with a fewer number of students have already started classes, those with a large number are still in a dilemma whether to reopen or not.

While virtually all private schools have started physical classes, the government ones have yet to follow suit. 

Ram Kumar Mahato, the chief district officer, asked the schools not to call those students suffering from cold or fever as there was still a risk of a third wave of coronavirus.

He also asked the schools to make arrangements for “reading only” by following the health safety protocols.

Meanwhile, education stakeholders of the district’s Lahan Municipality have decided to resume physical classes. Organising a press conference on Thursday, the Private and Boarding School Organisation of Nepal (PABSON) and the National Private and Boarding School Association of Nepal (NPABSAN) informed that they would now reopen the district’s schools because the schools in surrounding districts had already resumed physical classes.

Lal Bahadur Raya, the district chairperson of the PABSON, said they decided to resume classes of 200 institutional schools of Grade VI-XII from coming Sunday. According to Raya, they decided to resume classes by maintaining health safety protocol.

Pradip Tiwari, district chairperson of the NPABSAN, said, “The schools will measure the students’ temperature at the entrance, maintain social distance, sanitize schools and follow other health protocols.”

We are compelled to resume classes physically because the attendance rate in virtual classes is less than 10 percent, Tiwari said.

According to him, they decided to resume such classes after neighbouring districts like Sarlahi, Mahottari, Bara and Parsa resumed their physical classes.

After the private schools and guardians asked the Lahan Municipality to resume in-person classes, its education department has asked all community and private schools of the district to resume classes physically from Sunday.

Khemnanda Bhusal, the municipality’s chief administrative officer, said that all the schools under the municipality would resume physical classes complying with all health safety protocols.