Kathmandu, August 2 The government has been advised to come up with a procedure to pass on the right to reopen schools that have remained closed due to the COVID-19, to respective local governments and schools. While Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is preparing to bring a work procedure to reopen schools across the country, experts and stakeholders concerned suggested that the government should not issue the work procedure without holding discussion with all concerned sides. The suggestion was furnished at a virtual dialogue organised by the Community School Management Committee Federation of Nepal and Education Journalists Group here today. “Threat caused by the COVID-19 continues to remain and reopening of schools now would increase the risk of infections,” they said, suggesting that the schools in those areas with low-risk of infection could be opened by adopting safety measures. The government has decided to allow schools to start the admission process for the current academic session from August 17. Currently, many private schools have been running online classes. According to Educationalist Dr Vidyanath Koirala, areas vulnerable and less-vulnerable to the coronavirus have to be identified first, and schools remaining in the second category should be opened after going through the COVID-19 test of teachers. But the rights to take a decision to this end should be given to local governments, school management committees and schools, he said. A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.