Nagaland Education dept. to issue new SOP for schools as classes set to resume

450 teachers from the state have applied for transfer

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Jan. 22 (EMN): Schools in Nagaland are set to reopen from February 8 for classes of 6 to 12 and a new standard operating procedure (SOP) will be issued next week.

The principal director of school education, Shanavas C, on Friday informed Eastern Mirror that the new SOP will be similar to the guidelines issued by the department last September, with some modification based on the present situation in the state.

Students should maintain minimal contact while attending classes to ensure safety, he said.

Amid confusion and anxiety among parents and students alike about the lower classes (classes 5 and below) that are not included in the first phase of reopening, the principal director said that the department will take decision on the same after assessing the outcome of the first phase.

He maintained that the department will notify after a couple of months after considering the Covid-19 situation in the state; and until such time, the lower classes will remain closed.

450 teachers applied for transfer

Meanwhile, the official informed that 450 teachers had applied for transfer through the ‘teachers online transfer portal’ that was launched on September 23 and activated from October 3 till the month end.

There are 1901 vacancies in government-owned schools — government primary school (GPS), government middle school (GMS), government high school (GHS), and government higher secondary school (GHSS).

In this regard, Shanavas informed that the department had already compiled the files and will take decision in a few days’ time for approval before the reopening of schools.

He maintained that the online initiative had saved a lot of time to concentrate on other administrative works and that the response was impressive.

The official also informed that, once the schools reopen and classes resume, it will strictly monitor the ‘Teachers App’.

Further, the principal director maintained that the Covid-19 pandemic has a great lesson in the field of education, although the state was not savvy to online education owing to the remoteness and connectivity problems. He added that it would carry forward the experience it got to improvise the quality of education in the state.