Maharashtra Schools to Reopen From October 4 for Classes 5 to 12

Maharashtra government has decided to reopen schools from October 4. Schools will reopen in a phased manner. For rural areas classes, 5 to 12 will resume in physical form, and in urban areas classes, 8th to 12th will start. The decision came soon after Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said that schools will reopen after Diwali.

Even as schools will reopen in the entire state, there is no compulsion for students to attend physical classes. Consent of parents will be necessary if they want to attend. As per a survey conducted by the school education department, more than 70 per cent of parents favoured reopening of schools, school education minister Varsha Gaikwad said.

The state had earlier formed a committee to set guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the reopening of schools. The expert panel has also suggested the Maharashtra government to reopen the schools in areas with a lower number of Covid positive cases and high vaccination coverage first.