Reopening schools for primary class children difficult, but necessary: Education minister

After a gap of nearly two years, all students across Maharashtra, including primary class children, will be going back to physical school from December 1, education minister has said

After a gap of nearly two years, all students across Maharashtra, including primary school children, will be going back to physical school from December 1. The decision to resume physical classes for all students was taken at a state cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The decision for reopening schools for primary children was taken by state education minister on Thursday. (HT PHOTO)

School education minister Varsha Gaikwad made the announcement after the cabinet meeting. A detailed standard operating procedure (SOP), including the Covid protocol to be followed, will be issued by the state school education department soon.

Since October, schools in urban Maharashtra were open for students from Class 8 to 12, and from Class 5 to 12 in rural areas.

“The state cabinet today has decided to allow reopening of physical classes in all the schools across the state. The decision was taken after holding a series of discussions with the paediatric task force and others. We have sought a few days to prepare a detailed SOP for the schools and parents and thus decided to resume offline classes from December 1,” Gaikwad said. The task force was appointed earlier this year when experts feared that children might be affected by a possible third wave.

Physical classes in schools were suspended in Maharashtra from March 2020 when Covid-19 pandemic hit the state. Offline classes had resumed in rural areas for Class 8 to 12 from July 12. On October 4, schools in urban areas were also reopened for Class 8 to 12 students whereas in rural areas, physical classes have resumed for Class 5 to 7 students.

Gaikwad said the state government monitored the Covid-19 situation for 15 days after Diwali before taking the decision. There was a concern that the daily cases in the state may start rising after the festive season, but thankfully that did not happen.

While admitting the difficulties in bringing primary students back to school, Gaikwad said it was a necessary step. “It is difficult to compel students from Class 1 to 4 to wear masks and maintain physical distance as they are too young. But it is also necessary to bring them back to schools, because, according to experts, gradually they are likely to go out of the mainstream as they have been at home for the last two years,” Gaikwad told reporters at Sahyadri guest house after the cabinet meeting.

“Our priority is to provide a safe and healthy environment to the students. With this in mind, the role of parents and the school management will also be fixed in the SOP,” she added. “In the next six days, the emphasis will be on acclimatizing schools, parents and children towards a safe transition to physical classes, as classrooms have been shut for nearly two years,” she added.