13 September,2020 07:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Pallavi Smart
The state government's education department held a meeting on Friday to discuss the reopening of schools. File pic
Parents of school-going children in Mumbai are a troubled lot. After issues over fee payment with schools, they are now worried that schools may open from September end, following the Central government's guidelines on the same.
A few days ago, the Centre had issued guidelines on how schools can be opened from September end. It, however, said that state governments would have to take a final decision in this case, depending on the pandemic conditions in their jurisdiction. With the health crisis still looming in Maharashtra, parents are not yet confident about sending their children to school.
"Maharashtra is clearly not in a condition to reopen schools. Some time ago, the state government had said that it was planning to reopen only after January 2021. These central government guidelines have led to a lot of confusion. We will need clarity from the state," said Anubha Sahai from India Wide Parents' Association, adding that the association will be writing to the Union HRD ministry, in this regard. "Reopening schools will not only pose a health risk for students, but teachers and non-teaching staff too," added Uday Nare, teacher from Hansraj Morarji School.
The state government's education department, which held a meeting on Friday to discuss the same with school managements and other officials, is yet to issue a statement.
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One of the senior officials from the education department of the Maharashtra government, on condition of anonymity, said, "The final decision has to be taken by the individual state governments. Considering the rising cases of COVID-19, the state is not really keen on reopening of school as yet."
2021
Year that state was earlier planning to open schools
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