COVID-19: Schools, colleges reopen in Gujarat after 9 months

After remaining shut for overnine months due to the coronavirus outbreak, schools forclasses 10 and 12 and colleges for final year graduation andpost-graduation students reopened in Gujarat on Monday.

Wearing masks and maintaining social distancing is amust for students, teachers and other staff members, andeveryone entering the schools and colleges is being checkedusing thermal guns, state Education Minister BhupendrasinhChudasama told reporters.

Various state ministers and BJP MLAs remained presentat different schools in Gujarat to welcome the students, arelease from the state government said.

Chudasama welcomed students at a school in Kalol townof Gandhinagar, while Minister of State for Home PradeepsinhJadeja was present at a school in Vastral area of Ahmedabad togreet students.

''There is great enthusiasm among students as schoolsand colleges are reopening after a long COVID-19 vacation.

Apart from reopening colleges for final year under-graduateand post-graduate students, we have decided to open schoolsfor classes 10 and 12 because of the upcoming board exams,''Chudasama said.

Managements of schools have already been instructed tostrictly follow Centre's standard operating procedures tocheck the spread of COVID-19, he said.

Following a significant drop in the number of newCOVID-19 cases being reported daily, the state cabinet lastweek decided to reopen schools for Classes 10 and 12, andcolleges for the final year graduation and PG students.

It was also announced that students attending schoolsmust get the consent of their parents.

The government had also made it clear that attendancewill not be mandatory and online classes will continue.

Schools, colleges and university campuses across thestate were shut after the outbreak of coronavirus in the statein March-end last year.

Since then, classes are being held online.

Though the government had earlier decided to reopensecondary schools and colleges after the Diwali vacation lastyear, it eventually dropped the idea following a sudden spikein the daily coronavirus cases at that time.

Later, the number of new cases being reported dailystarted declining from mid-December.

As against 1,500 to 1,600 cases emerging in a day inOctober and November last year, around 700 cases are gettingregistered daily at present.