Gujarat schools to reopen for classes 10, 12 and colleges from Jan 11

Ahmedabad, Jan 06: Gujarat too announced reopening of schools for Class 10 and 12 students and colleges for those in final year from January 11.

The decision was taken in the state's cabinet meeting held on Wednesday.

"Classes for students of 10 and 12 standard will resume from 11 January, following all COVID-19 guidelines," said Gujarat education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.

However, attendance will be voluntary while online classes will continue till the year end.

Schools and other educational institutions have remained shut in the state since March, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus caseload in Gujarat rose to 2,48,581 with 655 new cases coming to light on Tuesday, the state health department said. Four patients succumbed to the viral infection which took the death toll to 4,325, the department said in its release.

The daily spike in cases in Gujarat has witnessed a steady decline over the last few weeksand the state''s recoveryrate has now improved to 94.71 per cent, saidthe department.