Gujarat: State Government May Consider Reopening Schools Post Diwali, Check Details Here

Gujarat State Government is mulling to reopen the schools for all the students post the Diwali Festival which will be celebrated in the month of November 2020.

Vinod Rao, the secretary of the state education department has informed that as of now they have not taken any decision regarding reopening the schools any time soon. 

"The Department will assess the pandemic situation and will decide to reopen the schools after the diwali festival in the mid of November 2020", he said. 

Read: Chhattisgarh School News: Schools Not To Open In October

He further added that the Education Department has been in constant touch with the representatives of the schools and the parents association regarding the issue. 

Earlier, the State Government was against the centre's SOPs for reopening of the schools from September 21. 

According to the latest updates in the SOPs, the Centre let the state government to decide, whether the schools can be reopened from October 15, 2020, in a graded manner. 

Jatin Bharad, the vice-president of the Self-financed Schools Management Association, Gujarat, said that citing the Covid-19 situation in the state, the centre's decision to resume the schools couldn't be implemented. 

He added that parents were hesitant to send their children to the schools and if the parents are unwilling to take responsibility, then the schools will also not do it. 

"There are 100s of students in the schools and if one student gets infected, it will be dangerous to the entire school students and their family members," said Jatin Bharad.

"Further, if the Covid-19 situation improves in the state, post the Diwali festival in November 2020, then the schools may consider resuming," he further added.

Read: Unlock 5.0: States to Decide on Reopening of Schools after October 15

Naresh Shah, the president of All Gujarat Parents Association stated that most of the parents are demanding to promote the students to the next class, as there's no point in resuming the schools in this academic year.

"The department has requested the state education minister to consider granting a mass promotion to the students as half of the academic year has passed," said Naresh Shah.

"If doing so, there won't be any set-back for the students, and the state board exams can be conducted on time for the class 10 and class 12 students during March next year," he further added.

Also Read: Health Ministry issues SOPs for Reopening Schools, Higher Education Institutions; Read Details