Maharashtra Covid task force may allow offline classes for college students: Report

NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra government’s Covid-19 task force said that schools should not be opened before Diwali. However, the state government is deciding on reopening Maharashtra colleges by allowing students and staff who are fully vaccinated.

According to The New Indian Express, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said, “Considering the situation at present, the task force is of the opinion that schools shouldn’t be reopened before Diwali”.

About Maharashtra colleges reopening for physical classes, the deputy chief minister said talks are going on about allowing fully vaccinated students and staff to begin offline classes in limited numbers following all Covid-19 protocols, the report added. “A final decision about this too will be taken by the chief minister,” he said.

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School education minister Varsha Gaikwad informed, earlier this month, that Classes 5 to 12 in rural areas and Classes 8 to 12 in urban areas will be allowed to attend physical classes from August 17, 2021. However, the minister later told the media that municipal commissioners in urban areas and collectors and Zilla Parishad CEOs in rural areas have been given the discretion to take decision.

Stating that the chief minister will take the final decision on Maharashtra college and school reopening, Pawar said that a section of parents want schools and colleges to reopen in districts with zero percent COVID-19 positivity rate.

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