August Week 4 Activity - The ACTiZENS' Club Programme by Desh Apnayen

Framing a policy for Independence and Interdependence

Subject – Schools re-opening policy in your state

Type of Activity – Community Level Activity

Introduction

In recent news we are reading and watching about ‘schools reopening plans’ in different states. The Centre has framed a plan to re-open schools and other educational institutions in a phase-wise manner starting from Sep 1, 2020 to Nov 14, 2020. The modalities of the plan have been discussed by the group of secretaries attached to the Group of Ministers on Covid-19 management. The decision is likely to be notified as part of the final unlock guidelines to be issued later this month which would guide the states on unlocking the remaining activities too.

Do you think, in such situation where everyday cases of COVID 19 are increasing drastically, schools can be re-opened? But on the other side, if the Government decides to keep schools shut down for this academic year, what will be the consequences on the education sector, and most importantly on you as students?

Therefore, this decision should include opinions of all people/the school ecosystem, who are interdependent like school management, teachers, students, parents and government.

This week we encourage ACTIZENS to think, discuss, analyse the situation, and form a policy for school re-opening in their State by involving opinions of different stakeholders.

Expected Outcomes

Students will learn the basics of drafting a policy and respect different views as members of the committee.
Students will analyse and discuss the current situation and take part in decision making as policy makers.
Students will learn to work in collaborative manner as a result of peer learning.

Steps for the Activity

Make group of 6 persons including 1 teacher, 2-3 students, 1 parent and 1 adult in your family who could play role of State Government. If such a group formation is difficult, students can form a group of students and divide roles amongst themselves.
Select any 1 state from India or take your own state to formulate the policy.
Do some research on current situation in your state.
Take a decision on schools re-opening plan in your state.
Discuss within the group about effects of school re-opening in case you need to take a decision about it in next month.
Formulate the policy for schools to re-open by including sanitation guidelines, precautions they need to take, supervision process etc.
In case, your group decides not to re-open schools, then make policy for online learning system.
Submit a draft report of your policy to your school management.

How to write a Policy?

What is Policy?

Policy formulation is nothing but the formulation of ideas or plans that are used by an organization or government as a basis for making decisions.

Several steps comprise the policy process

Selecting the desired objective.
Identifying the target of the objective.
Determining the pathway to reach that objective.
Designing the specific program or measure in respect of that goal; Target, Cost and Financing, Political issues.
Implementing the measure and assessing its impact.

School Re-Opening Policy

Details of members in your group –

Name	Role Played in Policy Formulation	Main Points raised or discussed
	Students
	Parents
	Teachers
	Adults as Govt. Officials

Name of School –

Name of State selected –

Current situation of COVIF 19 in your selected State –

Your Group’s Discussion –

Schools will re-open in our state
Schools will remain closed and online teaching will continue

Impact of your decision on different people involved – (Like Teachers, Students, Management, etc)

Students
School
Teachers
Parents

Draft a policy guideline based on your discussion –

In the State “_________________________” schools will be reopen/remain closed from/till ___________________________________________
Students of Grades ____________________________ will attend school/online classes
Schools should follow the below guidelines – (Add more if your group comes up with some additional points)

Policy made on – ______________

Date – ______________

Signatories – ___________________________________________________________

Reflection Sheet –

While developing the Policy draft, have you noticed how you are linked with so many people around you? How inclusive decisions can be made in the society? Now think about the people who will be a part of of your decision and define their duties for implementing the policies made by the group.

Me (Student)
Parents
Teachers
School Management
School helpers
Education Department / State Government
Any Other

Policy Guidelines –

(Write down 10-15 guidelines for schools which they need to follow to re-open/ continue online teaching after discussion with your group members)