School opening status across India-February, 2022

Shreyosi Chakraborty

As Covid cases throughout the country start showing a downtrend, state governments in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Rajasthan have all reopened schools/educational institutions from February 1. After reopening for a brief period, schools were again shut down from mid-January owing to the surge in Covid cases.

Schools and educational institutions have been taking proper Covid measures like maintaining social distancing among each other, wearing face masks, spraying sanitisers and frequently washing hands.

Here is the status of schools reopening across major Indian states:

Haryana: Schools for classes 10 to 12 has reopened in Haryana from February 1, education minister Kanwar Pal had said earlier. Online teaching will, however, continue for the other classes. The minister had further added that 75 percent of the students in the 15-18 age category had already been vaccinated. The decision to re-open classrooms for other classes will be taken later.

Chandigarh: Schools in Chandigarh has reopened from February 1. Further, colleges and other educational institutions are also allowed to reopen. “All the students of the age group of more than 15 years should be vaccinated at least for 1st dose while attending offline classes,” the notification read.

Himachal Pradesh: Schools and educational institutes across Himachal Pradesh has reopened from February 1 onwards. The classes for students of 9-12 standards have resumed with 50 per cent capacity, following which the principals have been directed to assort micro-plans to accommodate the students. The decision was taken in the state cabinet meeting on January 31, Monday.

Uttarakhand: The state government had ordered the re-opening of schools for classes 10-12 across the state from January 31. Online classes are, however, continuing up to class IX.

Rajasthan: Schools have re-opened for Class 10 to Class 12 from February 1 in Rajasthan and for Classes 6 to Class 9 it will open from February 10. Students, however, will continue to have the option of online education.

Maharashtra: Schools in Maharashtra have already reopened their schools from January 24. The decision was announced by education minister Varsha Gaikwad and it was applicable to all pre-primary and classes I-XII. Schools and colleges in Pune district reopened from February 1. For Classes 1 to 8, schools will be open only for half-day, while for Classes 9 to 10, schools will run as per the regular schedule. Colleges will also function as per regular time.

Karnataka: The state government had announced to reopen schools from January 31. “From Monday, all classes will be operational in schools with the strict implementation of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and protocol,” said Education Minister BC Nagesh. He also announced the reopening of colleges and urged the officials to adhere to Covid protocols.

Andhra Pradesh: Schools in Andhra Pradesh re-opened on January 17. Education minister Dr Adimulapu Suresh decided not to extend the holidays for educational institutions in Andhra Pradesh.

Telangana: Educational institutions reopened from February 1, the education minister P Savitha Indra Reddy had announced earlier. The minister had added that proper Covid protocols should be followed in all the institutions.

Tamil Nadu: Schools (all classes), colleges and universities in Tamil Nadu re-opened from February 1, state chief minister MK Stalin had announced earlier. Playschools, LKG and UKG facilities will remain shut, universities and colleges have been allowed to open (except for the ones which are functioning as Covid centres).

Kerala: Physical classes of school students up to Class 9 were suspended till January 21, 2022. However, schools were only closed till class 9. Students of classes 10 to 12 continued to facilitate the ongoing inoculation drive for the 15-18 age group. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the health and education departments to coordinate and make required arrangements for the vaccination of students of Classes 10-12.

Jharkhand: The government reopened its schools for the students of classes 1 to 12 from February 1. Jharkhand education minister Jagannath Mahto said, “Online calls are not successful at all. Government school children are also being affected. Many states are re-opening schools. Preparations are being made in the state to reopen schools in Jharkhand too,” the minister had said earlier.

West Bengal: West Bengal will reopen its schools from classes 8-12, colleges from February 3. Previously, the state had said that only after 85 per cent of its students below the age group of 18 years have been vaccinated, it will reopen its schools.

Tripura: The Tripura government has reopened its schools with strict Covid-19 restrictions from January 31. The state has reopened its schools for students from pre-primary to class 12.

Arunachal Pradesh: Schools have reopened from February 1 for class 6 and above. The offline classes and boarding in hostels have resumed from February 1 with 50 percent capacity. However, offline classes till class 5 will remain suspended. “All physical classes till class 5 may remain suspended till February 14, 2022,” the order further read. According to the latest government order, physical classes will be allowed for those students who have taken the first dose of the vaccine. Schools have been told to function with not more than 50 per cent occupancy in well-ventilated classrooms. Universities, colleges and technical institutions were advised to regulate the timing of their classes with 50 per cent attendance and maintain Covid protocols.

Assam: The state government has suspended the physical classes for Class 1 to Class 5 from January 7 onwards. The schools in Assam were closed till January 30, 2022. For Classes 9, 10, and 11, offline classes will be continued on a rotational basis.

Nagaland: Nagaland government has decided to allow offline/physical classes for students of Classes I-VIII from February 15, 2022 subject to parental consent of the student concerned, and further subject to the fulfilment of the conditions and SOPs to be issued by the home department. Board examinations for Class X and Class XII will be conducted physically/offline by the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE). Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) will conduct the Class 10 and 12 examinations in March in offline mode by observing COVID-19 standard operating procedures issued by the state government. NBSE secretary Rangumbuing Nsarangbe in a notification informed that High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) exam will be conducted from March 9 to 22 while Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) exam from March 8 to March 31.

Mizoram: Mizoram schools were closed for the students of Classes 1 to 9, Class 11, colleges and universities till January 31 amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the state. Previously, it was decided that as per the instruction issued by the school education department, schools and hostels will be permitted to be open only for students of Classes 10 and 12 who will be appearing for board examinations.

Meghalaya: After an extended winter vacation, schools reopened in Meghalaya from January 25.
A notification issued by the Education department had said online classes from Class I to Class XII will resume in Shillong and Shillong agglomeration. Offline classes from Class I to Class XII will continue in the rest of the state until further notice, it had said.

Sikkim: Sikkim Government reopened all state government, government-aided, and private educational institutions, universities, colleges, tutorials, coaching institutes, and hostels from February 1, 2022.

States which are yet to take any decision on school re-opening:

New Delhi: No official order regarding schools’ re-opening. The Delhi government has decided to review the decision of reopening schools in Delhi in the next DDMA meeting, the date of which has not been announced yet. As per the DDMA meeting held on January 27, 2022, Delhi Schools will remain closed till further orders.

Gujarat: The Gujarat Self-Financed School Management Association had asked the government to allow physical classes from February 1. The Gujarat government decided to close schools for physical classes for students up to Class 9 till January 31. No official announcements have yet been made from the government.

Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said the decision on reopening schools in the state will be taken after consultation with experts. The state government had on January 14 ordered the closure of schools and hostels for Classes 1 to 12 till January 31.

Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh government decided to keep its schools closed till February 6, seeing the Covid-19 trend in the state. No announcement has been made yet. It is expected that schools will re-open after February 6. The online classes will continue as per the schedule.

Chhattisgarh: The state government has not yet decided anything regarding the re-opening of schools.

Odisha: In view of the rising cases of Covid-19, the colleges and universities were closed by the government on January 10, 2022. The order will remain in effect till February 10, 2022, and nursing institutions, colleges, and medical colleges were allowed to function under COVID-related restrictions. Meanwhile, a fake notice claiming that schools, colleges, and educational institutes in the state will reopen on February 10, 2022 has been circulating on social media. The Odisha Higher Education Department has warned students against the same. The state education department has made it clear that the government has not taken any such decision yet.

Puducherry: A decision on reopening schools in Puducherry, would be taken soon, Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararjan had said last week.

Bihar: Bihar Education Division has chosen to keep the schools closed till February 6, 2022. All Educational institutes including colleges and coaching will not revive until further orders.

Jammu and Kashmir: The School Education Department is undecided regarding the reopening of schools in Jammu and Kashmir, top officials said on Tuesday.

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School reopening status across India