Shillong, Oct 28: With Meghalaya all set to reopen schools for offline classes for all levels from November 1, Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui has assured that necessary directives have been issued to ensure a safe learning environment.

Government of Meghalaya has decided to have offline classes for students from class I to V from November 1. Earlier, students of class VI and above were allowed to attend offline classes in their respective schools.

“After consulting with the health department, we have decided to allow reopening of schools from class I to V in the state… The decision was taken after taking into consideration that there is improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the state. Having said that, all necessary protocols have been prescribed which need to be followed,” Rymbui told reporters here on Thursday.

Stating that the consent of the parent is paramount, Rymbui informed that the government has limited the hours that the students can be in the school premises as well as restricted number of students per class to 15.

He, however, said the school authorities have been asked to take a call based on the infrastructure they have and ensure that maximum protection is provided to the students.

When asked, the education minister said many states have already taken such a decision in view of the COVID-19 scenario in the country.

“Moreover, many people in the state are fully vaccinated,” he said while urging citizens who are yet to get vaccinated to undergo vaccination for the safety of everybody and that COVID-19 has affected the students to a large extent.

On the concerns expressed about the third wave of the pandemic, Rymbui however said, “We cannot predict the future, we have to think about the present taking into consideration that in case of any eventuality we have to be ready.”

He also assured that the government is fully geared up to face any eventualities and that it is ready to make changes to its decision (reopeningof schools) as and when the situation changes.