Schools, colleges to reopen from February 13
KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 6
District administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur today revoked the odd-even rule for private vehicles as well. Earlier, the three DAOs had revoked the oddeven rule (vehicles with odd number plates on odd dates and even numbers on even dates) for public vehicles. Ban on political rallies and mass meetings will, however, continue till further notice.
The administration took this decision after cases of COVID infection dropped in the past few days.
All public institutions can deliver services as usual.
Valley DAOs also decided to reopen education institutions, including schools and colleges, from February 13 by following health safety protocols. Educational institutions can also conduct exams from February 13 by maintaining health safety protocols. In the case of students below the age of 12, the administration ordered schools to reopen classes on the basis of shift system.
Shopping malls and other businesses shall have to ensure that there are no more than 50 people at a time and those who visit such places should produce COVID immunisation certificates. Party venues are allowed to admit up to 100 fully-vaccinated people at a time; cinema halls, swimming pools, gyms, and stadiums can carry out their businesses from February 13 by following health safety protocols.
Restaurants can open, but they will have to serve only fully-vaccinated customers; religious places shall have to ensure that there are no more than 50 worshippers at a time.
Earlier in the day, Private and Boarding Schools Organisation Nepal and Nepal Guardians' Federation had expressed confidence that the government would allow schools to resume physical classes from February 13 across the country.
Schools across the country were forced to adopt distance learning system yet again on January 10 owing to rising cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 across the country.
Earlier, students were able to attend physical classes for three months during the current fiscal. Various studies and education experts have long been saying that distance learning is not effective in the country as it has created deeper disparity among students in urban and rural areas and among children in private and community schools.
Online education is limited to only a small part of the population living in urban areas among the middle or higher class people. Majority of students from underprivileged families or students from impoverished background clearly do not have access to online classes in the country.
Talking to THT, Tika Ram Puri, chair of PABSON, said neither the government nor stakeholders should turn a blind eye to the disparity being created in the education system.
"We must work to end this disparity and make education accessible to all as soon as possible," he added. "Our two years of experience show that online learning or any form of distance learning is largely ineffective.
Moreover, a large number of students, except those in urban areas, were deprived of education. This must end now and we strongly demand that the government lift the blanket lockdown in the education sector," Puri said.
Chair of Nepal Guardian's Federation Suprabhat Ghimire said, "Since the government has already started inoculating children in the age group 12-18 years, it should allow students to attend physical classes as soon as possible."
A version of this article appears in the print on February 7, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
