Schools to reopen in Maharashtra from October 4 | Fusion - WeRIndia

Due to the constant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Maharashtra government has not allowed schools to reopen so far.

But, finally, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government decided on allowing schools to reopen. State education minister Varsha Gaikwad announced the resumption of physical classes from October 4.

Schools in rural areas will resume from class 5 to 12 and in urban areas, they will resume from class 8 to 12.

The education minister said that the local authorities had been given powers to bring children back to schools. In this regard, a new set of SOP has been issued for students and teachers by the government as per the suggestions of an expert committee. The committee suggested the government to reopen the schools in areas where a lower number of COVID cases are reported. At the same time, highly vaccinated areas have also to be considered.

Earlier also, several reports suggested reopening of schools if the third wave of COVID does not hit the state as predicted. They suggested the reopening of schools in a phased manner after Diwali. However, the government decided to reopen the schools from October 4.

Schools have to follow all specified COVID-19 protocols strictly. They have to sanitize classrooms, maintain staggered school hours etc. Besides, they shall make sure the students follow other COVID protocols like wearing facemasks and maintain social distancing inside classrooms.

Yesterday, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said that colleges would be reopened phase-wise. He said that all students aged above 18 years have to be fully vaccinated to attend physical classes.

To create an education-friendly environment for students and promote enthusiasm among them, the state government wants to develop model schools. Initially, 488 government schools will be chosen for this. The government believes that it will help improve the quality of education.

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