Madhya Pradesh schools closed till January 31 due to spike in Covid-19 cases, says CM

NEW DELHI: Amid soaring Covid-19 cases in India, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the government is shutting schools for Classes 1 to 12 till January 31. The decision was taken after a review meeting today. Madhya Pradesh government and private schools will return to online classes, the chief minister said.

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also informed that the MP board and pre-board exams for Classes 10 and 12, scheduled to begin from January 20, would be conducted as per schedule. However, the examinations would now be conducted in ‘take-home exam’ format.

The Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) had earlier announced that the MP Board Class 12 board exams will start from February 17 while Class 10 board exams will start from February 18, 2022. The MP board has released the complete MPBSE date sheet 2021-22 on the board's official website - mpbse.nic.in.

Also read | School Closed News: These states shut schools due to rising Covid-19 cases

All political, religious gatherings and fairs will be banned. However, there is no ban on Makar Sankranti 'snan', Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

वर्तमान परिस्थितियों को देखते हुए कक्षा 1 से लेकर कक्षा 12वीं तक के सभी प्राइवेट और सरकारी स्कूल 15 से 31 जनवरी तक बंद रहेंगे।

प्री-बोर्ड की परीक्षाएं जो 20 जनवरी से होने वाली थीं, इन परीक्षाओं को टेक होम के रूप में लिया जाये। #MPFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/oMu9Oe2xMC

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) January 14, 2022

"Besides the closure of schools, the state government also banned all religious and commercial fairs and rallies," additional chief secretary Dr Rajesh Rajora said. Only 250 people will be allowed to attend political, cultural, religious, social, educational, entertainment and other such events, he said.

People need to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour, including wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing, he said, adding the fresh guidelines are in addition to the restrictions that are already in force. The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 8,14,473 on Thursday with detection of 4,031 new cases, while the death toll increased to 10,543 after three more patients succumbed to the infection, a health department official said.

Also read | Covid-19: Schools closed in Rajasthan from today till January 30 for all classes

In other news, the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) has postponed the RBSE Class 12 exam 2022 due to increasing COVID-19 cases in the state. “The Class 12 practical examinations which were scheduled to begin from January 17 have been postponed till further orders, in view of the prevailing Covid situation in the state and on the advice of experts. As many as 25 districts in Rajasthan have been declared as red zones,” Bulaki Das Kalla, the education minister of Rajasthan said.