Maharashtra schools to reopen from 4 October: Minister Varsha Gaikwad

Mumbai, Sep 24: The schools in the state will reopen from 4 October, said Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra Minister for School Education, following approval from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

The government has planned to reopen schools in a phased manner. "In rural areas classes will resume from 5th to 12th standard and in urban areas from 8th to 12th standard. The Maharashtra government is making efforts to bring back children to schools," Varsha Gaikwad said, adding that the local authorities have been issued powers.

However, the government said that there is no compulsion for students to come to schools as they can receive education through both online and offline modes. "Students will come to schools only with consent of their parents, attendance will not be made compulsory for any beneficiary scheme or exam. Students will be able to receive education through both online and offline mediums. Our content is available on YouTube too," Varsha Gaikwad added.

However, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, on Thursday, said that the decision on reopening schools in Mumbai and surrounding areas will be taken after Diwali.

Nonetheless, schools have reopened in a few other states in the country.

Some states have either started the reopening of schools in phased-manner or announced to commence offline education in the coming months.

Schools in Karnataka for classes 9 to 12 restarted in August and classes for 6 to 8 commenced in the first week of September. In Tamil Nadu, the classes for 9 to 12, colleges and polytechnics reopened from 1 September.

States like Kerala and Bihar will reopen the schools in November while Telangana and Delhi are in the process of reopening in a phased manner.