Maharashtra Govt Mulling Over Resuming Classroom Studies For Std 5 To 8 Students, Health Dept's Approval Awaited

Maharashtra School Reopening: The Maharashtra education department is going to allow the resumption of classroom studies for std 5 to 8 after getting the required approval from the state health department. Know all about it here.

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  Mumbai: The Maharashtra education department is going to allow the resumption of classroom studies for class 5 to 8 students only after required approval for the same is given by the state health department, School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said on Wednesday.  "The school education department will discuss the issue of reopening schools with the public health department. Once we get their approval, we will resume classes," Gaikwad told reporters. Major cities including the capital Mumbai, Mumbai suburbs, Thane, Pune, and Nashik will receive a notification over reopening of schools only after the state public health ministry has been consulted. "We are consulting parents and local officials in this regard. Local officials have also conducted a large number of RT-PCR tests on school teachers and non-teaching staff before reopening schools," Gaikwad said. Last month, the state government had authorised district collectors and local authorities to reach the decision on reopening of schools for classes 9 to 12 based on the Coronavirus situation in their areas. The schools in the country had been shut since March because of the Covid-19 induced lockdown and only recently the schools began calling students seeking higher education in a staggered manner or other ways decided by authorities. At least three lakh students from classes 9 to 12 have been attending schools in 25 districts of the state since November 23, the minister revealed. The figure in fact has increased to five lakh as per a review taken last week. As per the latest data shared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Maharashtra reported 4,026 new cases taking its overall Covid-19 caseload to 18,59,367. As 6,365 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, the total discharged patients are 17,37,080. 53 deaths were reported taking the death toll to 47827. (With Agency Inputs)