The Maharashtra schools for classes 1 to 12 are to be re-opened from today with COVID-19 protocols, the Maharashtra School Education Minister, Varsha Gaikwad, said last week.
The Maharashtra School Education department has also decided to open pre-primary schools from January 24.
"We have also decided to open pre-primary schools from January 24."
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray said,"We've not made students' physical presence mandatory in schools. A few districts are opening schools, a few districts are not. Parents may send their wards with permission. We request everyone to follow COVID19-appropriate behaviour."
While the BMC has allowed schools to reopen in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government has allowed local bodies to take the decision on reopening schools after assessing the COVID-19 situation in their respective areas.
However, students will not be forced to attend physical classes where schools reopen. In cities like Pune and Aurangabad, it has been decided to keep schools shut while classes continue in the online mode.
Also according to a PTI report,about 62 per cent of surveyed parents in Maharashtra are unwilling to send their children to school from January 24, amid the state government's decision to allow reopening of schools from Monday.
The findings were based on a survey conducted by online community platform LocalCircle across tier-I, tier-II/III and tier-IV cities of the state that received 4,976 responses.
Of the total, 67 per cent respondents were men and the remaining 33 per cent women, the survey showed.
Immediately after the onset of the Omicron-led third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maharashtra government had on January 8 ordered closure of all schools and colleges in the state till February 15 to contain the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Sunday reported 40,805 COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 75,07,225, while 44 fatalities put the toll at 1,42,115, a health department official said. The discharge of 27,377 people during the day took the recovery count to 70,67,955, leaving the state with 2,93,305 active cases, he said.
*With inputs from agencies
