The lockdown period is expected to be extended beyond May 3 in many parts of the country, that are red zones or hotspots as in where the pandemic has affected the most. The government officials say the schools, colleges shopping malls, religious places and public transport are likely to remain closed.

A final decision will be taken during the weekend after working out on a strategy to fight the pandemic. As the education institutions are expected to remain closed for longer, the pending board examinations of various boards including CBSE, ICSE and state boards of Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Rajasthan are also expected to be delayed.

But there are many schools that have switched to online classes to continue with the syllabus and are expected to declare summer vacations in the second or third week of May. Also, the University Grants Commission (UGC) is expected to announce the new academic year and plans for university examinations after analysing reports of two expert committees.

The committees have suggested to begin the new year from September and holding of examinations online if the infrastructure permits. At a video meeting held by the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers of all states, Odisha, Goa, Meghalaya and a few other states agreed that the lockdown should be extended for a few more weeks to contain the spread of COVID-19, while some states suggested some relaxations in ‘green zone’ districts where there has been no case of coronavirus in the last 28 days.

Source: NDTV