NASHIK: The tribal development department has decided to start government and aided ashram schools as well as Eklavya residential schools in the state from next Monday (Aug. 2). Similar to the school education department, in the first phase, classes from Class VIIIth to XIIth will be started in Covid-19 free village. However, prior to this, the permission of the project level committee and the concerned Gram Panchayat is necessary.
Currently, there are 502 government and 546 aided ashram schools under the tribal development department in the state, About four and a half lakh students are studying in them. Thousands of students from 25 Eklavya residential schools are taking lessons. However, all the schools in the tribal area have been closed for the last one and a half years due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
It has been ordered to start schools only in compliance with the Covid-19 restrictions. Rules for starting schools have also been announced. Accordingly, the project officer and the local administration want to take this decision in coordination with the Gram Panchayat. This has paved the way for school bells to ring. In case of non-implementation of the rules, the project authorities have been given all the powers to take administrative action against the concerned.
Meanwhile, the ordinances of the school education department apply to the nominated schools. Therefore, correspondence is going on at the government level from the tribal development department regarding starting classes in these schools also. Teachers and non-teaching staff are required to take at least one dose of vaccine within 15 days of the commencement of school. Otherwise the concerned will be sent on unpaid leave.
Hostels will remain closed
The tribal development department has 494 hostels in the entire state with a student capacity of about 55,000. As there is no order from the state government to start hostels, they will remain closed even after Monday. The tribal development department clarified that guidance has been sought from the senior level regarding hostels.
