Podar International School welcomes re-opening of schools in Maharashtra
Mumbai: .As the country starts to settle into a renewed sense of pre-pandemic normalcy, schools across India are planning to open their gates to full corridors and happy faces of students’ basis government directives. At Podar International Schools across the country, the preparations for re-opening of schools in a safe and smooth manner are underway in full swing and highest standards of safety protocols have been implemented. Out of 139 Podar International School, 62 schools have partially reopened from grade V onwards in locations across Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. Podar International School, a pioneer in the field of international education and has been consistently ranked as one of the top 10 international day schools in India.
Harsh Podar, Director, Podar Education Network said, “We welcome the decision of re-opening schools in Maharashtra in a phased manner. For the first time in our 94 year history, all our schools had to remain closed for students. These have been challenging times for all of us. While the teachers at Podar International Schools have received generous appreciation for ensuring that a holistic educational experience continues by conducting virtual lessons, the management at the Podar Education Network has been working tirelessly to ensure that as and when the students return to the classrooms they will be welcomed into a safe and nurturing environment. The network has put into place a very detailed and well-planned safety protocols that will be followed by all the branches of the school.
While there is great enthusiasm about the reopening of schools among students and parents alike, the unfortunate events of the last few months have left parents feeling anxious about the safety of their children when sending them back to school. The transition from online school to offline classes demands a great degree of meticulous planning from the schools. The protocol includes strategies such as a complete redesigning of the seating plans in the classrooms to ensure students are able to maintain social distancing once school resumes. The management is also striving to ensure a safe commute for students to and from school by making their school buses completely safe. This way, parents can be rest assured about the safety of their children from the moment they leave for school.”
Some of the safety protocols implemented are:
The windows across the school will be kept constantly open, while school areas will be disinfected on a regular basis. The housekeeping staff at the schools are being provided with intensive training to implement a three-step protocol that begins with fumigation of the entire school, followed by deep cleaning with bleach wash and finally, the staff will regularly disinfect and wipe furniture fixtures, doors, railings, and other common touch points. The students too will be encouraged to wash their hands with soap on a regular basis besides sanitising and masking. Similarly, at the forefront of the fight will be the school’s security team. This team will ensure anybody entering the school including teachers have a mask on and their temperature is scanned with an IR thermometer. The security team will also ensure the sanitisation of the hands and shoes of anyone entering the school.
As all members of the staff await the reopening of the schools, the teams are continuously working on sensitising students and parents on new safety protocols at Podar International School. For the school, the safety of the students is their main priority and they promise to do all they can to ensure that the students are safe and happy at school. Podar International School is all set to welcome the children back into their classrooms.