Bihar School, colleges reopen date: After over 9 months, students head back to physical classes from today | Check Odisha, Maharashtra status too

Bihar Schools, colleges reopen date: Nitish Kumar-led government has decided to reopen all educational institutions in Bihar, including schools, colleges and coaching centres, starting today, after a gap of over nine months.

Physical classes were held for students in Bihar for standards 9-12 in schools and final year students in colleges. The institutions were closed since March 14 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Wearing of masks, use of hand sanitiser and maintenance of physical distancing have been made mandatory at the educational institutions. Schools have been asked to operate at half the strength to ensure social distancing in classes.

Attendance at schools and colleges, however, remained thin as many parents were apprehensive of sending their wards to the educational institutions till they were vaccinated.

The opening of schools witnessed mixed reactions from students, parents and teachers. Many students, on the other hand, were upbeat about the development.

"I am happy that schools have reopened as students were getting badly affected. Most of the children studying in government schools do not have laptops to carry out online studies. Our syllabus is lagging and we will work hard to cover it," a class 9 student of Patna's Miller High School told PTI.

Another class 11 student told the news agency that though COVID-19 fears loom large, studies are equally important and cannot be missed, while assuring that safety protocols will be maintained.

Students have to bring consent letters from their guardians to be able to attend the classes, one teacher said.

The decision to reopen the educational institutions was taken during a Crisis Management Group meeting on December 18 last year.

Education Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar had said that students will be permitted to enter the educational institutions only if they wear masks.

Authorities in Bihar of the educational institutions will keep a tab on students to check whether they have any COVID symptoms and medical examination of pupils will be conducted in government schools on a random basis, he said.

Two masks each will be distributed among Bihar school children and physical classes for students of standards 9-12 will be held at half the strength to ensure social distancing, the official said.
Meanwhile, apart from Bihar, other states are also mulling to open schools.

Puducherry schools reopen date: In Puducherry, all schools, including privately managed institutions will reopen from today, January 4. The Union Territory’s Directorate of School Education in a statement said schools reopening today would have a half-day session from 10 am to 1 pm in Puducherry and Karaikal regions to start with. Full-day working of schools will be restored on January 18 and classes will be held with strict adherence to safety norms.

Maharashtra schools reopen date: Schools reopened for classes 9 and 10 in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district on Monday, even as two teachers have tested positive for coronavirus, a civic official said. There was good response from students in the civic-run schools on the first day, the official said, adding that the exact number of students who attended the classes will be known by evening. While permitting reopening of schools for Classes 9 and 10, which have been shut since March last year following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation has made coronavirus test mandatory for teachers.

Pune schools reopen date: Schools in Pune are reopening today for Classes 9 to 12 with COVID-19 restrictions. All teachers and staff will have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR tests and carry its negative report on day 1 to be allowed within the school and college premises. In the rural parts of Pune district, schools for Classes 9 to 12 had been reopened from November 23 in keeping with the state government's directives. Nagpur Municipal Corporation will also reopen its schools from today for Classes 9 to 12.

Odisha schools reopen date: Odisha government has permitted reopening of schools for classes 10th & 12th from January 8, 2020, School & Mass Education Department said had on Saturday. All the schools that will reopen from the aforementioned date will need to abide by the COVID-related protocol as a precautionary measure.

With PTI inputs