Nagpur: All city schools will remain closed till January 3 while those in rural Nagpur will reopen from December 14, as per a decision taken on Wednesday by civic and district officials, respectively.
Nagpur Municipal Commissioner (NMC) Radhakrishnan B issued orders to extend school closure date from the previous December 13 schedule. The civic chief stated that a second wave of Covid-19 is being seen in many countries. He added that even in India, some states like Delhi are witnessing a spike in cases.
Radhakrishnan said that though the situation in Nagpur is under control, precautions need to be taken as “we are just coming out of the Diwali festivities period”.
Schools in rural Nagpur, however, are all set to reopen from Monday. District collector Ravindra Thakare confirmed the development to TOI saying that orders are being issued for the same. Till the time of going to press, the order had not yet been signed.
TOI spoke to a few high-enrolment CBSE schools that are located in rural Nagpur. The general view seemed to be in favour of reopening. “I believe those in Std X and XII will definitely come as it’s a crucial year for them. And as the days go by, confidence level will build up among other parents,” a principal said.
Schools had done a survey just after Diwali vacation and an average of 15-20% parents had responded positively. Another principal said, “That time the response was low because many still had fear of what impact Diwali will have. Now that danger time, the two-week period following Diwali, has gone and I am sure more parents will give their consent.”
TOI had reported earlier that a majority of schools have decided to wait till the official order comes for rural reopening before seeking parents consent. Last month’s flip-flop on school reopening has created a trust deficit. While NMC has played it safe by making its deferment plan official well in advance, the district collector’s office is slightly dragging its feet.
A CBSE school’s principal said, “If they have taken a decision to reopen, then type that letter, sign it and send. Why does it have to take a day or two for official issuance.”
Ashnarayan Tiwari, another principal, said, “If rural schools reopen, all of their students are anyway coming from city. Their staff is also from city. It would have been best if the date was kept the same.”