School reopening from October 15: What states have decided so far
High case load, dissent of parents, advent of festive season are some of the reasons why many states are not resuming schools from October 15.
Unlock 5 guidelines permit reopening of schools from October 15 in every state but as the Centre asked state governments to take a final decision regarding school reopening, several states are eying at a later date to reopen schools. A few states resumed classes from September 21, as advised by the Centre earlier.
Here’s everything you need to know
Where schools are reopening from October 15
Punjab: The Punjab government has decided to reopen schools and coaching institutions from October 15 in a graded manner. Students of only classes 9-12 are permitted to attend schools with parental consent and without making attendance compulsory
Gurugram: Physical classroom sessions for students of classes 9 to 12 of government schools will resume from October 15. Regular classes will be conducted for three hours, from 9am to noon. Consent letter is not required since classes will be held regularly.
Haryana partially reopened schools on September 21. Colleges and universities were reopened from September 26.
Where schools are reopening from October 19
Uttar Pradesh government has decided to reopen schools from the beginning of the next week — October 19. Schools in Noida, Ghaziabad are also likely to open from October 19.
Why most of the states are not reopening schools now
Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala are some of the states that are not opening schools now.
There is no proved correlation between reopening of schools and a spike in Covid-19 cases. However, several teachers and students have reportedly been found Covid-19 positive in states where schools reopened. After Assam reopened all educational institutions, a number of teachers and non-teaching staff of Dimoria college in Kamrup district were tested positive.
Karnataka has declared a midterm holiday from October 12 to 30 suspending even online classes. “I’ve learnt through the media that many teachers are contracting Covid-19 infection. Keeping in mind the health of teachers and students, I’ve directed senior officials to issue an order declaring a midterm holiday from October 12 to 30,” Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said.
Chandigarh is not reopening schools now as parents are not on board with the decision of reopening schools.
Many states have festival holidays in October which explains why they are not willing to reopen schools for a week.
