Nursery admissions on anvil in Delhi; DoE issues notification

 

The Delhi government on Monday initiated the process for admissions in classes – nursery, KG and class I for the academic session 2021-22. A notification was issued asking all the district education officers to provide information regarding the seats available for both general and reserved categories in all the private schools in the national capital.

There were a lot of speculations doing the rounds as the admissions were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier, there were reports which suggested that Delhi government might scrap the nursery admissions.

However, just few days back, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal cleared his stand and said that the government will soon begin the nursery admission process in private schools.

“All district DDEs are hereby directed to get the above exercise completed by February 15 so that further necessary action can be taken to start the online admission process for the next academic session...,” the notification read.

Across approximately 1,700 private schools in the city, admissions will be done for more than 2,00,000 seats in entry-level classes.

There are separate entrance processes for general seats and reserved seats. Students from Economically Weaker Sections(EWS)/Disadvantaged Groups (DG) categories apply under reserved seats.

This time, the admissions were delayed by more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The admission process normally starts in November or December.

In the notification, the DoE has asked all deputy directors of education (DDEs) to give an updated list of all private unaided recognised schools in Delhi, the correct GPS coordinates of all the schools categorised by jurisdiction, and information regarding EWS/DG category seats at the entry-level classes.

Delhi govt revises guidelines for public gatherings, check details

 

The Delhi government on Monday revised the guidelines for allowing maximum number of people at public gatherings like social, religious or cultural events, weddings and funerals.

As per new guidelines, not more than 200 people will be permitted at events happening in closed halls. The government further stated that there is no cap on the maximum number of people attending the events when it is taking place in open spaces.

However, the order also said that prescribed Covid guidelines should be followed at events. Under this, it will be mandatory to wear masks, maintain social distancing, have provision for thermal scanning and use hand wash or sanitisers.

An official said that all the public utility areas like food stalls and stages should be sanitised before the event. As per the order, common bins for disposal of face masks, multiple hand wash facilities, separate entry and exit gates, and circulation of outdoor air should be increased as much as possible 

The order also stated that only asymptomatic persons will be allowed at the events. Entry of guests should be regulated at the venue to ensure it does not exceed the upper limit at any time. 

For closed spaces, the air-conditioners should be set at temperature of 24-30 degrees Celsius with a relative humidity of 40-70 per cent.

Delhi govt orders resumption of OPD services for non-Covid patients

 

The health department of Delhi government on Wednesday ordered to resume the normal OPD services at all the hospitals in the national capital. The OPD services were hit in the last 10-11 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The move has come as there has been a significant decline in the new coronavirus infections and the situation gets under control. 

This has come as a relief for the non-Covid-19 patients as they can now take the OPD services. Ward admissions will also be allowed and surgeries will also resume.

An official informed the health department has ordered the management of the hospitals to resume the services as it was prior to the coronavirus pandemic. “The medical superintendents and directors of all the hospitals have been asked to resume the services from Thursday itself,” he said.

However, the prescribed guidelines for Covid-19 will be in place at the hospitals. The patients visiting the hospitals will have to follow the guidelines like wearing masks, maintaining social distancing etc.

Delhi gets ready to launch rent-a-bike scheme for Indian, foreign tourists

 

Delhi government's transport department is firming up a scheme to issue licences for “rent-a-bike” service operators in the national capital. With this, the Indian and foreign national tourists would be able to take bikes on rent to move in the city.

A senior transport department officer said that the presentation of the draft scheme is expected to be made next week for discussions. 

He informed that the presentation was scheduled earlier this month but it got delayed. “It will be held next week. The draft proposal requires approval of the State Transport Authority (STA),” he said.

As per the proposed scheme, the licences will be given to applicants who have minimum five bikes, necessary permits and insurance cover, and good financial condition to maintain the vehicles and efficient management of the establishment.

The applicants should also have the necessary facilities for the housing, maintenance and repair of vehicles, sanitary block, reception room and 24x7 telephone connectivity.

The licenses will be given to the bike operators for five years. The licence fee has not been decided yet, the official informed.

The scheme mentioned that the operators will have to maintain the records of hiring with the details of hirer. There will be separate records for foreign nationals. The operator will have to collect the hire charges from foreign nationals or NRIs in foreign exchange.

Delhi: Schools allowed to reopen for classes 10, 12 from Jan 18

The Delhi government on Wednesday allowed all the schools to reopen for class 10 and 12 students from January 18 in the national capital. The move is intended to facilitate the preparations of students ahead of the board exams.

However, the attendance will be optional and it will be up to the parents whether to allow the students to attend the classes or not. The government has asked the schools to call students only on the consent of the parents. Moreover, all the prescribed coronavirus precautions should be followed at the schools. 

“In order to conduct the activities pertaining to pre-board preparations and practical work, the head of government, aided and unaided recognised schools may call the students of classes 10 and 12 only to school with effect from January 18, 2021. However, the child should be called to school only with the consent of parents, following the enclosed standard operating procedure. Further, while the records of children coming to school be maintained, the same should not be used for attendance purposes as sending the child to school is completely optional for parents,” the circular of Directorate of Education (DoE) read.

In addition to it, the circular also mentioned that the schools will not reopen in the containment zones. Students, teachers and staff living in containment zones will not be allowed to attend the schools. 

There will not be assembly and physical activities at the schools. The government has directed the principals to ensure no sharing of books, copies and stationary items.

The circular stated that the pre-board exams of Class 12 will be conducted between March 3 and April 15 and for Class 10, they will be held between April 1 and April 15.

The dates for written and practical exams have already been announced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The practical exams will start from March 1 and written exams will be conducted between May 3 and June 10. 

The schools will have to follow the guidelines including social distancing of six feet, staggered timings and hygiene. The DoE said that the schools will have to provide emotional and trauma support to students and teachers when they will return to the schools.

Delhi govt orders mandatory 7-day quarantine for UK passengers

 

The Delhi government on Friday announced stricter protocol for passengers arriving from United Kingdom (UK) at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to check the spread of new Covid-19 strain. 

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared the order of Chief Secretary Vijay Dev which stated mandatory quarantine for all the people arriving from UK including those who test negative for the disease.

“To protect Delhiites from exposure to virus from UK, Del govt takes imp decisions. All those arriving from UK, who test positive will be isolated in an isolation facility. Negative ones will be taken to a quarantine facility for 7 days followed by 7 days home quarantine. (sic)” Kejriwal tweeted.

The Chief Secretary said in the order that the protocol will be strictly enforced on a trial basis till January 14 in Delhi. As per officials, the rules may get extension after review of the situation.

“As a matter of abundant precaution, in view of the increased transmissibility of the new variant, it is decided that all travellers coming from the UK to India would be mandatorily subjected to self-paid RT-PCR tests on arrival at the airport. Those who are found positive shall be isolated in an institutional isolation facility in as separate (isolation) unit as per existing laid down protocol. Those who are found negative shall be kept in compulsory institutional quarantine for a period of seven days followed by seven days of home quarantine,” read the order.

Coronavirus vaccines likely to arrive early next week in Delhi

Amid the preparations, the coronavirus vaccines are likely to arrive in Delhi by early next week. An elaborate arrangement has been made to execute robust vaccination drive in the national capital.

Delhi government is creating a massive storage facility at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH). The government has already informed the police ahead of the arrival of the vaccines.

As per an official, RGSSH can store around 50,000 vaccines in a temperature-controlled environment. He said, “We are making necessary preparations ahead of the vaccine's arrival in the city. 621 cold chain facilities have been set up.”

The vaccines are expected to arrive in the national capital by Tuesday. The vaccines will be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius. The official said that one vial of the vaccine contains about 4.6 ml capacity and it has on average 8-10 doses.

The drug regulator of India has approved two vaccines so far. They have approved Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for emergency use in the city.

As per information, a total of 1,000 vaccination centres will be set up in the city. After registration for the vaccine, people would get an intimation SMS carrying details of location of the centre and the date of vaccination.