“The public, through various media and newspapers, have expressed their opinion on reopening of schools and based on these inputs, a meeting between parents and teachers was held on November 9. The feedback was analysed by the Education Department and it was decided to defer the reopening of schools and hostels until further orders,” a government release stated, adding that the announcement will be made at a more conducive time.

As far as colleges are concerned, classes for final year postgraduate students in science and technical education and research scholars will commence from December 2.

For other students, the decision to reopen colleges will be announced later while the online classes for college students will continue till the colleges reopen, the release stated. Schools, colleges and other educational institutions were closed following the announcement of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 24. However, with the number of positive cases on the decline, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on October 31, announced that schools and colleges would reopen on November 16. The announcement received flak from parents and opposition parties especially when the fear of a second wave was looming large.