Maharashtra Schools Reopening News: After remaining closed for nearly 10 months now, the Maharashtra Maharashtra State Government is planning to reopen schools for Class 5 to 8 students starting from 27th January 2021 onwards. The decision to reopen schools for upper-primary school students was conveyed by School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad on Friday – 15th January 2021. Schools across the state were closed down in March 2020 since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained closed since then.
In continuation of our plan to reopen schools in a phase wise manner, today I discussed my department’s proposal to reopen schools for Std 5th to 8th from January 27 onwards with @OfficeofUT ji, who was kind enough to approve it. pic.twitter.com/zM1Ksfaush
— Varsha Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) January 15, 2021
Decision Announced by School Education Minister
Maharashtra School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad on Friday took to Twitter to announce the decision about reopening of schools for upper primary students starting from 27th January 2021 onwards. In a tweet sent out from her official account, she said that “In continuation of our plan to reopen schools in a phase-wise manner, today I discussed my department’s proposal to reopen schools for Std 5th to 8th from January 27 onwards.” She also added that the decision has also been approved by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Apart from this, she also assured all students and parents that “our SOPs are guided by the principle of ensuring continuity of education in the safest possible manner for our children.”
Final Decision by Local Authorities
While the state government has given the in-principal go-ahead for reopening of schools and colleges in the state, the authority to take a final decision in this regard rests with the local authorities. Local authorities including district collectors, municipal commissioners and district civil surgeons have been instructed to review the pandemic situation in the district and evaluate the situation and cover all the risk factors before reopening of schools. Ms. Gaikwad also added that for reopening of schools for Class 9 to 12 students, elaborate measures were put in place including testing all teachers and staff members for RT-PCR tests. She said that similar measures will also be adopted for the reopening of schools for Class 5 to 8 students as well.
