Schools reopen in Jammu zone after two-week closure due to heavy rain and floods

Schools in the Jammu zone reopened today, September 10 after being closed for the last two weeks due to heavy rain, floods, and landslides that began on August 26. The extreme weather caused loss of lives and significant damage to physical infrastructure in the region.

The Director of School Education, Jammu, has issued directives to ensure all safety measures are followed before resuming offline classes. According to the order, no offline classes shall commence in government or private schools till a valid structural safety certificate is issued by the competent authority.

"HOs and School Management Committees must evaluate the overall preparedness of their respective schools after obtaining the safety certificate," the official order said.

If a school is structurally safe and does not require a safety audit, the HOI or committee will have to submit an undertaking certifying the building’s safety. This undertaking should be submitted to the Chief Education Officer (CEO) or Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) before offline classes resume.

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Teachers, students resume academic activities

"Schools have reopened in the region today. They were shut down following the rain fury since the end of August," an official from the education department said. Some schools may remain closed due to damage, he added.

According to the PTI report, students welcomed the reopening, expressing enthusiasm to resume classes. Sunita, an eighth-grade student at a convent school, said, "We are happy to return to school and meet our friends. We are meeting our teachers again. Our education has suffered. Now we will focus more on completing the syllabus." Arvind from KC School said, "We are back to school. We love coming to school, meeting all our friends and teachers, and playing."

Teachers described the reopening as an opportunity to make up for lost time. "It was long-awaited to join back our schools and be with our students. We are happy to be here. We will work hard to make up for the loss of one fortnight," a teacher said.

(With inputs from PTI)