School reopening for Class 1-7 postponed till December 15

In an official order, municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar said, “The opening of schools for Class One to Seven for offline teaching is being suspended till December 15. The (further) decision would be taken after taking review of the situation. Online teaching will continue.”

The order would be applicable for all schools in the jurisdiction of the PMC, Pune Cantonment Board and Kirkee Cantonment Board.

Last week, the state government had decided to reopen all schools for offline teaching for Class 1 to 7 from December 1. The schools have been closed for the last one-and-half years since the outbreak of the pandemic.

“The WHO has declared Omicron as a ‘variant of concern’ and steps are needed to be taken to ensure there is no spread of Covid-19 in the city,” Kumar said.

Colleges in the city along with schools for Class 8 to 12 are open for offline teaching but there has been a poor response from students and parents due to which most of the teaching is still being carried out through the online medium. It is necessary for students to have written consent of parents before attending offline classes in schools and colleges, according to rules.

Meanwhile, the state government has also decided to continue with the restrictions at places with mass gathering by allowing only 50 per cent occupancy in theatres, auditoriums, cultural halls and marriage halls while permitting 25 per cent occupancy in open-to-sky places.

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