On Reopening Of Schools, Maharashtra Government's U-Turn

The Maharashtra government had announced on August 10 that schools can reopen from August 17, but a day later, a cabinet decision was taken to put that resolution on hold after the task force voiced opposition

The Maharashtra education department has put on hold its decision to reopen schools after objections from its task force on Covid. The government had announced on August 10 that schools can reopen from August 17 -- a resolution was made and detailed SOPs were formulated on restarting classes for classes 5 to 12 in rural areas and 8 to 12 in urban areas. But a day later, a cabinet decision was taken to put that resolution on hold after the task force unanimously voiced opposition. A meeting was held between the education department and task force on Wednesday night, where Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was also present. Asked about the apprehensions of the task force, one of its members told NDTV that children below the age of 18 are not vaccinated and an impending third wave could impact them.