Cabinet meeting: Himachal schools, colleges shut till December 31, night curfew in 4 districts

Night curfew will be in place in Mandi, Kangra, Shimla and Kullu from 8pm to 6am till December 15

In the wake of the recent spurt in coronavirus cases in Himachal, the Cabinet on Monday decided to keep all colleges and schools closed till December 31 and imposed night curfew in the four worst-affected districts of the state.

Night curfew will be in place in Mandi, Kangra, Shimla and Kullu from 8pm to 6am till December 15. There has been a steep increase in infections in the four districts. State capital, Shimla, has reported a two-fold increase in cases in November with the district tally reaching 5,521 — an increase of 3,023 cases since October 31. Similarly, Mandi recorded 2,491 new cases in November, taking the district tally to 5,516 and Kullu logged a spike of 1,515 cases, taking the district’s tally to 3,065.

Online classes to take place from November 26

While all government educational institutions will remain closed till December 31, online classes are scheduled to commence from November 26. Teachers, too, will continue to work from home until further orders. Offices of high schools, senior secondary schools and colleges will remain open from November 26. Principals will have the discretion to call in faculty members as per requirement.

The government also decided to close winter-closing educational institutions from January 1 to February 12, 2021. However, online classes will continue during the period. Sessions will be extended in case of winter closing of institutions in the hill-state and students of Classes 1 to 4, 6 and 7 will be promoted as per provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009.

Final examinations for Classes 5,8,9 and 11 will be conducted simultaneously for winter and summer closing schools in March 2021. Board exams for Classes 10 and 12 will be conducted in March 2021 with 30 % relaxation in syllabus.

Attendance of Class 3, 4 employees restricted to 50%

The cabinet has decided to restrict attendance of Class 3 and 4 government employees to 50%. Half the strength will attend office for three days and the remaining half for the next three days, on rotational basis, till December 31.

All social, political, cultural and sports gatherings in open areas will be restricted to 200 persons with social distancing in place. A fine of ₹1,000 be imposed for not wearing a face mask in public places. All buses in the state will ply with 50% occupancy till December 15, the Cabinet decided.

Polls to the newly constituted municipal corporations of Mandi, Solan and Palampur will be held in March or April, 2021, with elections of the Dharamshala municipal corporation.