Haryana schools set to re-open July 27 but colleges, universities stay shut till Juy 31
Schools in Haryana will re-open from July 27, an order by the state's Education Department said Wednesday, following the conclusion of summer holidays that have been declared from July 1 to July 26.
Universities and colleges, however, will remain shut till July 31, the order added, noting that meanwhile "e-learning for the students may be continued" and a further decision on re-opening higher education centres will be taken after consultation with vice-chancellors and all stakeholders.
The Haryana government's order comes a day after the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed private schools to collect tuition fee "irrespective of offering online classes" to students during the coronavirus lockdown period.
All educational institutions, in the state and across the country were shut down in March during the first phase of the coronavirus lockdown, over fears of the virus spreading and to maintain social distancing.
In May the centre had said that a decision on re-opening educational institutions would be taken in July after discussing the ground realities of the coronavirus outbreak with states and union territories.
No reference to this was made in guidelines released this week for "Unlock2", the second stage of India's emergence from the coronavirus lockdown.
While announcing guidelines for "Unlock1" the had centre said the re-opening of schools and educational institutions would not take place before the second stage (i.e., "Unlock2") and that this would only happen after discussions with all stakeholders, including parents.
The Union Health Ministry is to release a list of SOPs (standard operating procedures) related to education to ensure social distancing and to avoid further spread of the COVID-19 virus, the government added.
Until now schools, colleges and universities that had not shut down completely were conducting classes via video-conferencing software, even for students in kindergarten and playschools.
This week IIT-Bombay became the first major higher education institution to confirm that next semester's classes would be held entirely online.
IIT Bombay Director Subhasis Chaudhuri, through his official social media account, said: "After a long deliberation in the Senate, we have decided today that the next semester will be run purely in the online mode so that there is no compromise on the safety and well-being of the students".
