New Delhi: A lot of misinformation and fake news has flooded social media ever since coronavirus hit India. However, not all that we read on the internet is true and it’s always better to check the facts before believing them. One such news article is going viral on social media platforms which claims that Home Ministry has decided to close all colleges and schools in India till December 31.

However, there is no merit in the news and the article is totally false. Notably, the central government has asked the state governments to decide on schools reopening and the decision is totally upon them.

Refuting such claims on social media, the fact check wing of the Government’s Press Information Bureau said that Ministry of Home Affairs has taken no such decision on closing of schools and colleges.

In a tweet, PIB debunked the claim as fake and wrote, ”Claim: In a news article, it is being claimed that the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to close schools and colleges till 31 December. #PIBFactCheck: This claim is fake. The Home Ministry has not issued any such order.”

In view of rising Covid cases, many state governments have been assessing the situation of their state and deciding on whether to reopen the schools or not. While many states have decided to reopen schools in November, some including Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Delhi have decided that schools would remain closed till December 31, 2020.

The Press Information Bureau launched this fact-checking arm in December 2019, to curb misinformation and fake news prevalent on the internet. It claimed that its objective was “to identify misinformation related to government’s policies and schemes that are circulating on various social media platforms”.

The government has time and again, urged people not to share such unconfirmed reports and trust only reliable sources.