WB School Reopening Update: Offline Classes to Resume after Puja vacation, says CM Mamata Banerjee

WB School Reopening: As per the latest updates, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee stated that the schools will reopen in the state after Puja vacation. However, the decision is tentative and subject to change depending on COVID 19 situation in the state. As per the decision taken in a high-level meeting, schools will reopen on an alternate day. The authority will take a firm decision and reopen the schools. Earlier this month, a high-level meeting was held on West Bengal School reopening. The decision hinted that the state government is thinking to reopen WB schools on alternate days after the puja vacation.

Schools To Remain Closed if COVID-19 Cases increases

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee clarified that if the number of cases increases, as it did in Maharashtra and Kerala, the decision might get revised. She added, "no doubt students are suffering a lot as schools remain closed, but concerns over their health cannot be ignored". West Bengal Schools have remained mainly closed since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020.

The West Bengal state government is also looking at resuming the colleges, universities, coaching centres, and other educational institutions. CM Mamata Banerjee also stated that the decision on West Bengal School Reopening would be taken by analyzing the situation and considering the students' health.

Students of higher classes will be the first to start attending offline classes

As per updates, the official said that whenever schools reopen, students of higher classes will be the first to start attending offline classes and not those who belong to primary classes. This was in response to a statement from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director-general Balram Bhargava, who had said it will be wise to reopen schools across India for primary section students as they can handle the viral infection better than adults.

COVID-19 Cases in West Bengal and Schools Reopening in other States

West Bengal reported 561 new COVID 19 cases and eight deaths in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate in the state rose to 98.20%, with 1.53% positivity rate. As per the recent reports, there are 9,461 active cases in the state at present. Earlier, several states, including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, have partially reopened their schools following a downfall in daily COVID-19 cases.