Maharashtra School Not to be Closed For now, Speedy Vaccination Drive for Students Planned: Health Minister

Maharashtra School Closure Update: With Schools being closed down in Delhi owing to the rapid rise in the COVID-19 cases in last one week, similar concerns were shared by parents and students of Maharashtra as well. Maharashtra state, especially Mumbai has reported a rapid rise in the number of COVID cases, especially Omicron cases as well. This has led to demands for closure of schools citing safety concerns for the students. However, for now, Maharashtra State Health Minister Rajesh Tope has said that Schools will not be closed for now, putting all such rumours to rest.

Speedy Vaccination Drive for School Students

Instead of focusing on closing down schools, which leads to a major academic loss for the students, the state government has hinted that it plans to lay special focus on vaccination of school students. Health Minister Rajesh Tope has said that increasing the vaccination rates is the need of the hour. In line with this strategy, the state government has directed health officials to focus its attention and resources on vaccinating school students. As part of this campaign, students falling in the age-group of 15 to 18 years, will be taken in batches to the vaccination centres. 

As per a tweet shared by ANI news agency, Health Minister has said that "I urge everyone to avoid crowding & follow guidelines to avoid infection. Schools students (15-18 yrs) should be taken in batches to vaccination centres. This will result in a high rate of vaccination. Schools will not be closed as of now: Rajesh Tope, Maharashtra Health Minister."

BMC likely to take decision for Mumbai School Closure Soon

While Maharashtra Health Minister has said that the state government doesn’t plan to close down schools for now, in line with the guidelines, the final decision about containment zones and school closures remains will local authorities. This means that for Mumbai Schools, the decision about closure will be taken by the BMC - Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation – the local civic body. For now, the BMC has not given any directions to schools for closing down offline classes; but if the COVID-19 cases continue to surge, it might be forced to shut down schools.

Also Read: Maharashtra Schools and Colleges Closing Decision To be Taken in 15 Days, Says Aditya Thackeray