When Will States Reopen Schools? What Will Be Different?

As states look to reopen schools post 15 October, the Ministry of Education has issued a set of guidelines.

THE QUINT; 08 Oct 2020  : In its Unlock 5 guidelines issued earlier this month, the Centre allowed phased reopening of schools and other educational institutions from 15 October. The education centres were shut down in March, more than six months ago, due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

As states look to reopen post 15 October, the Ministry of Education has issued a set of guidelines.

Here are the new rules and what will change for students. Read on.

Didn’t Centre allow reopening of school from 21 September? What’s new about this?

In its 'Unlock 4' guidelines, Centre allowed the reopening of schools for students of Classes 9-12. However, the government said that regular classes cannot be held and that students can meet their teachers in staggered groups, voluntarily and with the written permission of the parents.

However, in the latest guidelines, the Education Ministry has said that the timing and manner of reopening to individual states.

Will students from different states get back to school at different times?

Yes, most definitely. It depends on when their state government decides to reopen and how they decide to resume schools.

Which states will reopen schools from 15 October?

There have been no specific announcements regarding this yet. However, some states which are worst-hit by coronavirus like Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have announced that schools will not reopen until at least 31 October.

In Uttar Pradesh, the decision has been left to the district administration to take – depending on the COVID situation.

States like Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka are likely to reopen schools from 15 October, in a phased manner, as they have already reopened for Classes 9-12.