After a gap of over nine months, several states today opened schools today. Physical classes were held for students of standards 9-12 in schools and final year students in colleges. The institutions were closed since March 14 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Wearing of masks, use of hand sanitiser and maintenance of physical distancing have been made mandatory at the educational institutions. Schools have been asked to operate at half the strength to ensure social distancing in classes.
Attendance, however, remained thin as many parents were apprehensive of sending their wards to the educational institutions till they were vaccinated.
Many students, on the other hand, were enthusiastic about the development.
From Maharashtra to Kerala, here is the list of states where schools are now open:
Maharashtra
Schools in Maharashtra were opened after Diwali, however, several municipal corporations including Pune and Aurangabad did not open the schools. Now, the schools reopened for classes 9 and 10 in Maharashtra's Aurangabad and Pune.
Kerala
Physical lectures for class 10 and 12 resumed on the first day of the new year in the southern state.
Bihar
All educational institutions in Bihar, including schools, colleges and coaching centres, reopened on Monday after a gap of over nine months today
Odisha
The Odisha government has announced that schools will reopen for class 10 and 12 from January 8 with all the standard operating procedures in effect.
Karnataka
Schools and colleges across Karnataka reopened on January 1 nearly after the gap of 10 months owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andhra Pradesh
Schools in Andhra Pradesh resumed normal classes from today for students of Classes 9 to 12. The classes are, however, not mandatory and only for students outside the containment zones.
However, Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have announced that they will not allow classes to resume from today.
(With inputs from PTI)
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