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Updated July 22nd, 2021 at 23:36 IST

Gujarat to open schools for Class 9-12 from July 26 amid COVID-19

The Gujarat government is all set to reopen the school gates for children of Class 9-12 beginning July 26 with 50% capacity.

Reported by: Aakansha Tandon
Gujarat
PTI | Image:self
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The Gujarat government is all set to reopen the school gates for children of Class 9-12, beginning July 26. This comes after the state was successful to get the COVID-19 curve down after the rather destructive second wave. The state government has decided to open the school for classes 9-12 with 50% capacity. Students willing to attend the classes physically will have to submit their parent’s consent to the same, the government said in its order. Students will only be allowed to attend the school after receiving a written allowance from their parents.

On July 9, the State education department of the Gujarat government approved the reopening of the schools from Thursday, July 15 onwards, which was later postponed to July 26. Speaking to ANI, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani announced that schools for class 12 students will re-open from Thursday along with the colleges for undergraduates and postgraduates. It will be mandatory to adhere to all COVID-19 related protocols on the premises. However, for both the states, the option of studying from online mode will continue and visiting the school for physical classes is optional. Physical attendance will not be enforced on student. 

With the cases of the novel Coronavirus showing a downward trend in the country, some other states have also decided to re-open educational institutes citing the educational loss of children. These states are Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. 

Top health officials advise reopening with caution 

On the reopening of the schools, the Indian Council of Medical Research  DG Dr Balram Bhargava on Tuesday in a press conference, advised that at first all primary and secondary schools in India should be reopened. He explained that children can “handle (COVID-19) viral infections much better than adults.” During health ministry's briefing, he also cited the Scandinavian countries as an example, saying that they “didn't shut their primary schools in any COVID waves.” 

Earlier,  AIIMS director Randeep Guleria had similarly given a nod to the prospects of reopening schools, although he added that vaccinating children “can play an important role in that.” As most of the schools have remained shut since March 2020 and were impacting the education and social life of kids studying remotely, Guleria advised resuming in-person classes in states where COVID-19 cases were declining and the positivity rate was less than 5 per cent.

Coronavirus situation in Gujarat

The Coronavirus figures in the state are effectively reducing, as the state had observed on 28 fresh cases on Wednesday. The total caseload in the state rose to 8,24,574 and the death toll stood at 10,076, as no fresh fatalities were reported. Around 8,14,109 people have recovered.

Image: PTI 

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Published July 22nd, 2021 at 23:36 IST

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