Chennai, Aug 31 : With higher classes for IX to XII reopening in Tamil Nadu, the state transport minister has ordered that the students can travel in government buses for free by showing their school identity cards. Transport minister, R.S. Rajakannappan in a statement released on Monday said that the students wearing school uniforms will also be permitted free travel in buses till the bus passes are made available. The minister in the statement said that students of government colleges, polytechnics and industrial training institutes (ITIs) will also be allowed to travel for free in state transport undertakings. The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order stating that college students from Kerala who are studying in Tamil Nadu will have to produce vaccination certificates and RT-PCR negative certificates taken within 72 hours of reaching Tamil Nadu. This, according to the state higher education department is due to the high rates of fresh Covid cases in that state. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin held a high-level meeting with officials on Monday to review the Covid-19 situation prevailing in the state as schools are scheduled to reopen on September 1, Wednesday. Hostels for schools and college students and working men and women can function in compliance with the Covid-19 protocol, the government in a statement said. The Acollege and school authorities must ensure that the hostel workers are vaccinated, the statement said. Chief Minister also requested parents and students to wear masks, ensure physical distancing and to follow the guidelines on Covid-19 protocol issued by the state health department. The statement said that the school and college management must ensure that the premises are properly cleaned and sanitized and the benches and desks in classrooms are sanitized properly. The state health minister Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS said, "The state health department has joined hands with the school and higher-education department and has conducted inspections across the state before the schools and colleges are reopened. The district medical officers and the district educational officers are given the responsibility to ensure that the schools and colleges are complying with the government orders in maintaining cleanliness." /IANS