Schools and colleges reopen in city on Feb 1

“The order for reopening of schools will be issued today. Mobile vans will be sent to schools for vaccination of eligible students. A special room will be reserved in the school so that kids who need rest or medical attention after the vaccination can use them,” said Pawar.

Pawar said that for Class I to VIII, the schools will be open only for four hours (half day). For Class IX onwards, the schools will remain open for regular hours. The decision about the half-day for Classes I to VIII will be reviewed after a week. If the situation improves further, schools can operate for regular hours. “At this stage, it’s not mandatory for the parents to send their kids for offline classes,” said Pawar.

For colleges, only those who have received both the doses of vaccine will be allowed to attend classes.

Pawar said opening schools for Class IX and above will help in increasing vaccination speed for 15-18 age groups. “The vaccination percentage for this group is lower than the state average in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. In the rural parts of Pune district, the vaccination for this group is much higher (at over 86%) and we are told that most of this has happened on school premises. Hence, reopening schools and vaccinating eligible kids at the school itself will help us improve the vaccination speed in the urban areas as well,” said Pawar.

Although the state education department has announced reopening of primary schools on January 24, schools in Pune district remained shut for another week, after the district administration and elected government functionaries decided to take a cautious stand last week.