Mumbai: Schools will continue to stay shut till Jan 15

This is a safe option, say officials considering the current situation

Mumbai schools will remain shut for a little longer as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has come out with a circular stating that schools will not open till January 15. With January 16 and 17 being weekends, the civic officials said that it would be further shut for another two days. Last month, the civic commissioner had deferred the reopening of schools till December 31 and with just two days from the last day of the year, the BMC has issued a further extension for schools to remain shut.

The circular also stated that the American and other consulate schools can be reopened after following COVID-19 norms. However, the circular doesn't clarify when the schools should be started. The state education department last month had issued a statement saying that even though the state had approved reopening of schools from November 23, local authorities are free to take their own call and it was following that that the BMC had extended the schools shutdown till December 31 and is now continuing it till January 15.

With the city and the state officials closely monitoring the COVID situation, this was a safe option, revealed civic sources. A civic official said, "While the fear of a second wave is not completely averted and still hangs over the city and now with the new strain being the new worry, it is safer for children to continue studying and learning from their homes instead of schools and thus we have extended the shutdown till January 15. We will take a call on reopening of schools soon."