Schools across Maharashtra reopened on Monday for students of classes V to XII in rural areas and students of classes VIII to XII in urban areas, after being closed for over a year and a half due to COVID-19.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the decision to reopen schools in the state was a difficult one and urged parents to take care of the health of their children.
“Let us try and make sure that the schools that we have reopened today do not have to be closed anytime soon. Care should be taken by the staff to ensure that classroom windows remain open and rooms are ventilated,” Mr Thackeray said, adding that the government was holding regular consultations with the state COVID-19 task force.
Mr Thackeray, along with School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad and other officials of the Education Department and the COVID-19 Task Force, was speaking during an online interaction with parents and students.
Ms. Gaikwad said that all efforts would be made to improve the quality of education to compensate for the loss suffered by the students due to closure of schools.
The decision to reopen schools in a phased manner was taken last month following a survey conducted by the Department of School Education. It is not mandatory for students to attend physical classes and parents have been asked to fill consent forms before sending their children.
The students looked excited as they entered the school after a long gap and met their friends, classmates and teachers. At the school gate, the officials ensured that all the students wear proper masks and sanitize their hands before entering the campus. Distancing was ensured even in classes by allowing only one student to sit on a single bench.
lowest cases
Meanwhile, Maharashtra recorded 2,026 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest since February 2 and 26 deaths on Monday, taking the number of infections to 65,62,514, a health department official said. And 1,39,233 people died.
On February 2, Maharashtra had recorded 1,927 COVID-19 cases.
Maharashtra’s case recovery rate is now 97.31 percent while the death rate is 2.12 percent.
On Monday, nine districts and four municipal corporations did not report any new COVID-19 case.
The health official said that at 339, Mumbai recorded the highest number of cases in the last 24 hours.