Schools across Maharashtra resumed physical sessions for classes 5 to 12 on Monday after being shut for over 18 months in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the reopening of schools interacted with all the students and teachers in the state and wished them luck and also unveiled the campaign 'My Students, My Responsibility'.
The CM said the decision to reopen schools was difficult and challenging. He said that if a teacher doesn't feel well then he/she should immediately get tested to avoid the spread of COVID-19 to the students coming to the school.
Further Uddhav Thackeray advised to keep windows and doors of the classrooms to keep open for enough ventilaton in the room. He also urged the schools to follow Covid protocols im every possible way.
Until now, schools were conducting physical classes only in those areas which were reporting relatively fewer COVID-19 cases. Last month, Maharashtra's School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad had announced that physical classes will resume in schools across the state and the government also issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for it.
On Monday morning, the minister in a tweet said, "Wishing all parents and students the very best as schools reopen across the state today. We hope you enjoy your first day back in a safe atmosphere." According to the Maharashtra government, physical sessions have started for classes 5 to 12 in rural areas and for classes 8 to 12 in urban areas of the state.
But, the physical classes have not yet been resumed for classes 1 to 4 in rural areas and for classes 1 to 7 in urban areas.
The Maharashtra education department conducted a meeting on Sunday to take stock of the situation before resuming physical classes in schools.
The state government in July this year allowed schools to restart physical classes in the rural areas where COVID-19 prevalence was negligible. The decision mainly benefited the state's Vidarbha region, but schools in major cities like Mumbai and Pune remained closed.
The latest decision was taken after consulting health officials as well as the state government's COVID-19 task force, Gaikwad earlier said.
(With agency inputs)
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