Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Oct 23: High Court today directed the Education Department to inform it as to what measures are being taken to ensure compliance of SOPs and the COVID guidelines on reopening of schools as announced by the Government.
The direction followed after the counsel Solih Peerzada submitted before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Puneet Gupta that there is hardly any school equipped with sanitization material hygienic sanitary system to check or reduce the vulnerability under the precarious conditions.
He informed the court that this practice may therefore expose the inmates to vulnerability of COVID-19 contagion especially within or around containment zones and SOPs as declared are likely to remain elusive. “In view of the seriousness of the issue as stated, the reply shall be positively filed within one week from today”, DB directed.
It may be noted that the Government of J&K UT vide its order on 31.8.2020 issued fresh guidelines on lockdown measures with the 50% of teaching and non-teaching staff to permit to be called to schools for online teaching and related work outside the containment zones.
The order also provides to permit the students of class 9th to 12th to visit their schools outside the containment zones on voluntary basis with written consent of their parents as per the SOPs issued by the MoHFW.
Advocate Solih submits that it has become imperative for the Secretary Education Department to submit before the court any order which has been issued regarding the opening of schools in containment zones.
“One there is a strict direction from the concerned District Disaster Management authorities to restrict the entry of public in containment zones, therefore the opening of schools in containment/red zones becomes questionable”, Advocate Peerzada mentions in his application.
He informed the court that the Director School Education Kashmir has failed to implement the SOPs and guidelines in respect of containment zones and red zones declared by the Government and has violated the SOPs and guidelines of District Disaster Management with impunity as such sought action against all the officials responsible for the reckless exercise endangering human life.
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