As the fear of the onset of a second wave has gripped the country, schools in some parts of the country which had begun conducting physical classes have now resumed online classes yet again.
Maharashtra, for instance, which has contributed to 65% of the total 35,871 cases reported in the country has suspended classes in some of the districts. While in Nagpur, a complete lockdown has been imposed for seven days, in Pune and Nashik, schools have been ordered to keep schools shut till March 31.
On September 30, the central government had announced Unlock 5.0 guidelines which gave states and union territories the flexibility to decide on reopening schools and colleges in a graded manner after October 15, 2020. Most of the states have resumed classes partially and in a staggered manner. Here’s the latest status on school reopening across India.
Jammu & Kashmir: Physical classes resumed for students of classes 9 to 12 from March 1 and for elementary schools from March 8.
Delhi: Classes 10 and 12 had resumed classes on January 18, 2021 while classes 9 and 11 reopened physical classes from February 5.
Punjab: To contain the spread of Covid-19, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Punjab Health Minister recently announced that schools will remain closed till March 31.
Haryana: Physical classes have resumed for class 10 and 12 students on December 14, 2020, while for classes 9 and 11 students, schools reopened from December 21, 2020. Meanwhile, students of classes 6 to 8 have begun attending schools from February 1, 2021.
Himachal Pradesh: Schools resumed for classes 8 to 12 from February 15.
Uttarakhand: Schools reopened in the state on November 17, 2020, for classes 10 and 12 students while classes 6 to 9 and 11 will begin from February 8.
Sikkim: Students of classes 11 and 12 started attending school on a voluntary basis with written permission from parents/guardian from October 19 while classes 6-8 resumed on November 2, and classes 3, 4 and 5 on November 23, all on a voluntary basis.
Uttar Pradesh: The state government has decided to shut down all schools up to class 8 till March 31, 2021 due to rise in Covid-19 cases.
Bihar: Nod to reopen classes 1 to 5 from March 1.Schools allowed to start primary classes while keeping in mind the safety aspects.
Jharkhand: Schools resumed for classes 8 to 12 from March 1.
Chhattisgarh: Schools yet to reopen.
Gujarat: The Gujarat government had reopened schools for classes 10 and 12 from January 11 while classes 9 and 11 resumed from February 1. Two primary schools and a college were shut later after they reported a high number of cases.
Rajasthan: Students of Classes 9 to 12 had started attending physical classes from January 18 and students of classes 6 to 8 were back to school on February 8. However, after the surge in cases, transport minister Pratap Singh Kachariyawas proposed to suspend physical classes again.
Madhya Pradesh: Schools are proposed to be reopened from April 1 for classes 1 to 8.
West Bengal: Students between classes 9 and 12 have started attending classes physically from February.
Odisha: Schools reopened for classes 10 and 12 from January 8. As no decision was taken on reopening schools for students between classes 1-8, all students were promoted without exams.
Maharashtra: Following the state government’s orders, schools in 25 districts of Maharashtra had reopened from November 23 for classes 9-12. Following a spike in cases, schools in Pune are shut till March 31, a seven-day lockdown in Nagpur starting March 15 was announced. The government also closed all schools in Palghar district as 30 students tested positive in a single school.
Mumbai: No in-school classes have resumed for students of any grades. Moreover, the BMC has asked schools to discontinue 50 percent rotational attendance for teachers and other staff from March 17. All teachers have been ordered to take their classes under ‘work from home’ pattern using e-learning and online platforms until further notice.
Goa: Schools in the state reopened on November 21 for classes 10 and 12 after eight months. The state government has asked the schools to strictly observe the Covi-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) like thermal screening of students, hand sanitising, wearing of masks, social distancing in classrooms, etc. The decision on reopening school for other classes is still awaited.
Assam: Schools resumed for classes 6 to 12 on November 2, 2020 and for nursery to class 5 from January 1, 2021.
Arunachal Pradesh: Schools reopened for students of Classes 8, 9 and 11 in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday after more than nine months. The school reopened adhering to standard operating procedures and Covid-19 protocols, officials said. Residential schools and hostels, however, will remain closed for now. Classes for students of classes 10 and 12 had already resumed from November 16.
Tripura: Schools in Tripura reopened for the students of classes 10 and 12 on January 4, 2021. On the first day, around 50 per cent of the students turned up for classes.
Andhra Pradesh: Schools in the state reopened in a phased manner for students of classes 6 to 12 in November 2020. For classes 1 to 5, schools reopened on February 1, 2021.
Telangana: The state government has decided to temporarily close all educational institutions (including hostels, gurukul schools, government and private schools) from March 24 with the exception of medical colleges.
Karnataka: Online classes continue for students between classes 1 and 5 while permission is granted for physical classes only for classes six and above.
Tamil Nadu: The state government has ordered the schools to be closed from March 22 for all students of classes 9, 10 and 11. However, for class 12 students, offline classes would continue to be conducted at the institutions. The decision was taken due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the state.
Puducherry: Schools reopened from March 3 for all students between class 1 and 12.
Kerala: Schools reopened for students of classes 10 and 12.
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