'Maharashtra schools won't be reopened before Diwali'

As parents panic over norms issued by the central government, state education department says the situation will be reviewed after the festival and accordingly a decision will be taken on restarting schools

Parents from across the state have become all the more apprehensive with the central government issuing guidelines regarding re-opening of schools from October 15. However, the Maharashtra government has no plans of re-starting schools until after Diwali. The authorities would take stock of the situation post the festival and decide accordingly.

The guidelines issued by the Centre have led to a lot of panic among parents. Moreover, since the state government has not issued any official statement regarding it, the ambiguity has caused much stress among parents.

However, in a meeting with the school managements last month, the state education department had said that schools could not be reopened until Diwali.

Speaking with mid-day, Vishal Solanki, commissioner of education, said, "In the meeting a mutual decision was taken that schools would not be reopened as yet. The situation will be reviewed after Diwali and a decision will be taken on the further plan of action." He added that learning would continue for students through different innovative methods.

Anubha Shrivastava from India Wide Parents Association (IWPA) said that she received several calls from parents after the Centre's guidelines. "Parents are very concerned and most of them are not in favour of reopening schools now. Even the teachers are not. It will be very difficult to keep the situation under control if schools reopen. Students will gather not only inside schools but outside as well. Children won't completely follow the instructions. Moreover, it is a different thing to take care of children at home. In school, one teacher cannot keep a check on multiple students to ensure that they follow social distancing."

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