DW BUREAU / CHANDIGARH Schools in Punjab will start conducting physical classes right from pre-primary levels from Monday, state School Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla said on Sunday. The government had already allowed reopening of schools for classes 10 to 12 from July 26. On Saturday, the state government had allowed reopening of schools for all classes from August 2 as it further relaxed Covid restrictions in the wake of declining cases. "Following the approval of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in view of the present Covid situation, the Education Department is all set to reopen schools for all classes from August 2 onwards," said Singla in an official statement here. The minister said the timing of schools will remain the same which is from 8 am to 2 pm. Parents will have to provide written consent before sending their wards to schools, he said. Singla said the reopening of schools would play an important role to assess the learning of students during the pandemic as the teachers were able to contact the students through virtual classes only. After the assessment of students, the teachers would focus on the fields which will be requiring more attention, he said. He said the reopening of schools will also provide a chance to schools and teachers to teach the practical subjects in a better way by conducting practical classes. Singla also directed the department officials and school managements to ensure proper cleaning of classrooms and follow COVID-19 norms as per the guidelines of the Government of India and the state government from time to time. The minister directed the district education officers to ensure both full vaccination of teaching and non-teaching staff before allowing them to conduct physical classes and should also arrange availability of vaccine for school staff on priority basis in liaison with respective district administration. He said random testing will also be conducted in schools with the ratio of 100:1 students and the secretary school education will be reviewing the situation on a weekly basis. (editor@dailyworld.in)