Maharashtra government to reopen schools from August 17; Check official statement here

Maharashtra became the latest state to announce the reopening date for schools. To be noted is that schools are closed now due to COVID-19 but the Maharashtra government has decided to resume offline classes. Students are hereby informed that schools of both urban and rural areas will resume from August 17, 2021. This announcement was made by State Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad on August 6, 2021. With this move, Maharashtra has also joined the list of states where offline classes have begun.  

Maharashtra school offline classes: Details

As per the notification, schools in rural areas will reopen for students of classes 5 to 8 from August 17, 2021. Schools in urban areas will commence offline classes for students of classes 8 to 12 from August 17, 2021. Students are hereby informed that the reopening of schools and commencement of offline classes will take place in areas where COVID-19 infection rate is low. Earlier, in the month of July, the Maharashtra government decided to resume offline classes in areas where no COVID-19 cases were reported for over a month. Following this order, many schools in rural areas started offline classes for students studying in classes 8 to 12. Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said, "We will reopen schools for students from class 5 to 8 in rural areas from August 17. In cities, we'll reopen class 8 to 12 while following #COVID19 protocol."

Along with Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have also laid out plans for the reopening of schools. In Karnataka, schools will reopen for students of classes 9-12 from August 23, 2021. In Tamil Nadu, offline classes will start from September 1, 2021. Along with Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, schools in several other states like Punjab, Gujarat, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have also reopened. All schools had been closed earlier due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.