Maharashtra schools to reopen from January 24, says Varsha Gaikwad: Report

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra government has decided to reopen schools for Classes 1 to 12 from January 24, education minister Varsha Gaikwad said, as per an ANI report.

“From 24 (January) we will be reopening schools for classes 1-12 with COVID protocols; CM has agreed to our proposal: Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra School Education Minister,” ANI tweeted.

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A Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) from Aurangabad had written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray requesting him to rethink the closure of schools and colleges, which he claimed is forcing boys to work in fields while girls are being married off at an early age by their parents.

He further urged the chief minister to resume offline classes with 50% capacity. The state government decided to shut schools, colleges till February 15, 2022, due to the rise in Covid-19 cases in the country. However, after a section of parents filed a petition to resume physical classes and the recent letter by the MLC, the government decided to take a call on Maharashtra school reopening.

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Some demanded Maharashtra school reopening as the Maharashtra Class 10, 12 exams are scheduled to be held from March 15. The Maharashtra SSC exam will start from March 15 and will conclude on April 4, 2022. Whereas, the Maharashtra HSC board exam will start from March 4 and conclude on March 30, 2022.

Earlier, Varsha Gaikwad asked districts to make decisions on schools closing and reopening in their jurisdiction, as per reports. Following this schools were closed in Maharashtra's Mumbai for Classes 1 to 9 and 11 till January 31, owing to the increasing number of Covid and Omicron cases in Mumbai. Similarly, areas like Nashik and Pune closed schools in their own respective jurisdiction.