As the government of Maharashtra allows schools to reopen from January 24, not all regions in the state are on board. While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has allowed all schools in Mumbai to reopen physical classes for classes 1 to 12 from Monday, January 24. Pune and Aurangabad have decided to keep the schools closed amid mounting cases of Omicron – the new Covid-19 variant.
In its decision, the government of Maharashtra has taken a decentralized approach, it has allowed the local authorities to make decisions about reopening schools based on the Covid-19 condition in their area.
Maharashtra had announced the closure of schools in the first week of January until mid-February due to a spike in coronavirus cases and in the wake of the rise of the highly contagious Omicron variant. However, some of the parents wrote to the Chief Minister, emphasizing the learning losses faced by the students, and demanding the reopening of the schools.
Based on the requests, the state’s education department had filed a report outlining why schools should reopen. The cabinet led by the prime minister today accepted the proposal and authorized regional bodies to take calls. No centralized shutdown orders from the state government.
For regions where schools remain closed, classes will still continue online. For schools where face-to-face classes will begin, no child will be forced to attend physical classes. Schools will resume physical classes amid strict Covid-19 precautions. Maharashtra’s Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad is likely to release detailed guidelines on the reopening of the school on January 21.
Meanwhile, MSBSHSE is holding board exams in offline mode, as per the latest updates. The SSC exams start from March 15th and the HSC board exams start on March 4th and last until March 30th. Students have demanded the cancellation of board exams due to rising covid-19 cases. Also last year, MSBSHSE had canceled board exams and announced results based on an alternate mode. The demand to cancel rose after the state education minister contracted the virus.
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