New Delhi: With many states reopening schools in the past two months, the ministry of education (MoE) is focusing on vaccination for teachers and non-teaching staff across states. States have been asked to ensure that all teachers receive at least their first dose by September.
School education secretary Anita Karwal Tuesday held an online meeting with representatives from various states and union territories and asked them to jointly design a roadmap at the district level for vaccination of all teaching and non-teaching staff.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, the MoE said, “Secretary, School Education and Literacy Anita Karwal held a meeting on NDMA Guidelines on School Safety. During the meeting issues related to vaccination of teaching and non-teaching staff in schools were also discussed.”
According to ministry officials, during the meeting, the secretary advised all states and UTs to complete the first dose of vaccination for teachers and non-teaching staff during the month of September and to ensure that those who have already received the first dose are administered their second shots.
The department is also obtaining vaccination status from states and UTs on a weekly basis through a tracker.
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States strive to vaccinate teachers
So far, states and UTs like Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana have reopened schools. ThePrint had earlier reported how in absence of vaccines for children yet, states had already started vaccinating teachers aggressively.
Punjab, for instance, has vaccinated more than 60 per cent of its teaching and non-teaching staff. Maharashtra and Karnataka have also prioritised vaccination for their teachers. In Delhi, the Directorate of Education had, in July, asked all schools to vaccinate teachers on priority.
Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya had last Wednesday announced that two crore additional doses of vaccines will be made available to all states to vaccinate teachers on priority by 5 September.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: Classrooms at 50% capacity, staggered lunch time — how Delhi is reopening schools from 1 Sept