Mumbai: Schools to remain shut, exams are on, says BMC

BMC cites new virus variant to keep education institutions closed, adding board exams can go on as per earlier schedule

Schools in Mumbai won’t reopen for now, said the BMC on Friday, putting to rest confusion among parents. This decision won’t affect board exams, which will be conducted as scheduled. “All schools, irrespective of management, medium and board under BMC’s jurisdiction will remain closed for students from January 16 till further notice,” reads an order.

A south Mumbai school being sanitised in November 2020

Earlier, reports said the civic body was considering reopening schools from next week. However, they also raised safety concerns among parents as the vaccination drive, which kicks off today, is unlikely to cover students so soon. The BMC’s order has cleared the air.

“While regular school classes shall remain closed, the board exams can be held as per pre-declared schedules. The earlier order regarding this remains as it is wherein we have clarified that schools, affiliated to all boards are given permission to hold board exams as per the schedule and adhering to all safety regulations,” said Palkar. 

The BMC’s earlier deadline to keep schools shut ended on Friday

An Education Department official, requesting anonymity, said, “The initial recommendation was to reopen schools in the city from Monday (January 18). However, with new mutations of virus surfacing in different countries and considering the population density of the metro city, the final decision was taken otherwise.”  

Since November 23 last year, schools in most parts of the state have gradually reopened for Classes IX to XII. But the plan had been put on hold for Mumbai and surrounding areas owing to the pandemic conditions. Initially, the date was extended to December 31 and then to January 15.

CM nod for offline classes for students of Std V-VII
Coinciding with the BMC’s decision to keep schools shut in Mumbai, Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad on Friday evening said that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has given the go-ahead to a plan to reopen classes for V to VII students in Maharashtra from January 27. “Our plan to reopen classes between V-VII was pending for approval at the CM’s office. It is now approved and we will soon be releasing a detailed SOP for it which will include points from earlier SOPs such as preparation by local admin, parents’ consent, RTPCR tests for teachers among all,” said Gaikwad in a video message. 

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