The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday, September 30, 2020, withdrew its decision to reopen schools for students of Class 10 to 12 from October 1. Last week, the state government said that students of these classes are permitted to come to their schools on a voluntary basis by following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Schools in Tamil Nadu have remained closed since March due to the Covid-19 lockdown. The state government has extended the lockdown till October 31.

The Central Government through the Unlock 4 guidelines issued at the end of August allowed partial reopening of schools in non-containment zones, for students of Classes 9-12, on written consent by parents. Attendance was not made compulsory.

After the Centre’s go-ahead, several states had decided in favour of reopening schools from September 21. These included Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Tamil Nadu education minister K A Sengottaiyan in mid-September said that there will be no shift-based classes when schools reopen in the state, hinting that there will be no partial reopening. He added, “All classes will start functioning simultaneously when schools reopen in the state. There will not be classes in shift, as all the schools have adequate infrastructure.”

However, on September 24, the Tamil Nadu government allowed students studying in classes 10 to 12 in government, government-aided and private schools to visit schools from October 1.

After the recent announcement by Chief Minister Palaniswami, schools in the state will continue to remain shut.

Source: NDTV

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