Guwahati:
With a question mark lingering over the educational system amid the extended lockdown, the Sikkim Government has announced that schools in the state will be re-opened on June 18 next, albeit with a few restrictions.
Making the announcement today, Sikkim education Minister Narendra Kumar Pradhan however added that students from Classes KG to 8 will not be allowed to attend the classes. Moreover, the morning assembly session shall not be allowed in any of the schools and there will be strict observance of Government-prescribed social distancing rules.
The Sikkim Government has also announced that there will be no holiday on Saturdays and the final examinations for the students will be held in February of 2021. All colleges will have classes as usual.
The state had earlier closed down all educational institutions after the dreaded coronavirus landed on Indian shores. The entire country soon went into lockdown mode and the current phase of the lockdown, the fourth, is due to end on April 31.
It is pertinent to mention here that Sikkim, that has been seen enforcing the lockdown strictly, remains the only state in the country without a single case of the coronavirus. The state, however, is still preparing itself in case an outbreak of the disease does happen. Sikkim's own Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) has now been inaugurated to better prepare the state to tackle Covid-19 presented challenges. The much awaited Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Certified Laboratory at STNM Hospital, Sochaygang (Covid-19 dedicated Hospital), was formally inaugurated by the the state's Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Thursday amid much fanfare.