KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has come up with an action plan for the operation of schools and colleges shut down due to COVID-19.

The Ministry of Education has prepared the school operation action plan as per the ‘Smart-Lockdown Procedure, 2078’ issued by the government in August.

The Ministry of Education has divided schools into four different parts — red zone, dark yellow, yellow and green zone – depending upon which the schools will remain either closed or open.

According to Deepak Sharma, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, schools will be closed in the red zone and dark yellow zone in the local level or districts due to coronavirus infections.

Similarly, the directory categorizes groups of students on the basis of those who have no access to all types of technology, students who have access to radio or FM, students who have access to television, students who have access to computers but do not have online connectivity, and those who have access to internet and information communication.

He further said that the concerned local level and schools should identify the access of those students and teach through alternative means.

Similarly, in the local level schools or colleges in the yellow zone, the teaching learning activities can be conducted in turns with the minimum presence of students, said spokesperson Sharma.

According to him, one third of the students in the local level schools categorized as yellow zone by the COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) can be called to the school and taught in-person on a daily basis.

Local level schools in the green zone will remain fully open, Sharma said. It is mandatory to strictly adopt the health protocol as laid down in the ‘School Operation Framework 2077’ issued by the Ministry of Education, added Sharma.