After rounds of discussions with the State-appointed Paediatric Task Force, the Maharashtra State cabinet on Thursday announced to re-open schools for standard 1 to 4 in rural areas and standard 1 to 7 in urban areas from December 1.

In a series of tweets, the State Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said, “We are committed to safe resumption of schools. In the next 6 days, the emphasis will be on acclimatising schools, parents and children towards a safe transition to physical classes as classrooms have been shut for nearly two years. We will be holding consultations with school mgt committees and parents”.

Gaikwad also said that she will hold deliberations with the Paediatric Task Force on the need to update the SOPs for re-opening for the sake of the much younger children, some of whom may be attending physical classes for the first time.

“Their well-being, health has always been our topmost priority. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our schools and especially our teachers for ensuring a safe environment for the classes which have resumed so far. This is the third phase of school reopenings, we must continue to observe all Covid-19 protocols” Gaikwad said.

Physical classes for standards 8 to 12 were resumed in urban areas, including Mumbai, in October. While in rural areas, physical classes for standards 5 to 12 were resumed during the same time.

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