Pawar said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will chair a meeting on Wednesday morning where statewide decisions about school operations among other issues will be taken. (Representational) Offline teaching in Pune schools for Classes 1 to 8 will be suspended with immediate effect until January 30 in view of the spread of Covid-19 in the city and surrounding areas, deputy chief minister and guardian minister Ajit Pawar announced on Tuesday.
Pawar said offline teaching for Class 9 and above will continue as students in the age bracket are now eligible to receive vaccination.
“After prolonged discussions with officials of PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation), PCMC (Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation), and the district administration, we have decided to shut the schools for physical classes for Standard 1 to Standard 8,” said Pawar. “State Health Minister Rajesh Tope has consulted with ICMR Director General Balram Bhargav who advised us to go ahead with the move in case positivity rate crosses 10 per cent. In Pune, the positivity percentage is about 18 per cent now,” he added.
In Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday declared that schools will remain shut for Class 1 to 9 and Class 11 students, while Class 10 and 12 students, who will be appearing for board examinations in March 2022, will be allowed on the campuses.
Pawar said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will chair a meeting on Wednesday morning in which statewide decisions about school operations and other issues will be taken.
‘Will allow only fully vaccinated people’
Pawar said that despite the administration’s efforts to increase vaccination in the district, only 74 per cent residents of the district have taken the second dose of the anti-Covid vaccine so far.
“To increase the percentage of vaccination and ensure that 100 per cent eligible population of the district is fully vaccinated, we have directed that only fully vaccinated persons should be allowed entry to all public, semi-public and private establishments,” said Pawar.
No clarity on offline classes for college, university students
Even as deputy CM Pawar announced shutting down of offline schooling for Class 1 to 8 students, there is no clarity yet if a similar decision will be taken for college and university students.
Uday Samant, minister of state for higher and technical education, chaired a review meeting on Tuesday with all district collectors, commissioners of departments concerned and vice chancellors of state-run universities, where the district-wise situation was assessed. “We had a discussion over the safety of students, parents, teachers and staff. A decision in this regard will be announced by 4pm tomorrow (Wednesday),” he said.
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