TN Schools Reopening: Schools have been closed in Tamil Nadu for over 7 months (Representative)
Chennai:
The Tamil Nadu government has postponed its decision to reopen schools from November 16 for classes 9 and above, almost two weeks after announcing the reopening of classes 9 to 12 with coronavirus safety regulations.
As in most of the country, schools have been closed in Tamil Nadu for more than seven months since the start of the pandemic.
Colleges and universities will start from December 2 only for research academics and final-year graduate students from the science and technology streams, the government said. They were also scheduled to reopen on November 16.
The government said opinion on the reopening of schools was divided after statewide consultations with parents and teachers on Monday. Parents in some schools wanted the institutions to reopen, but others were against such a move due to the Covid crisis, the government said.
Tamil Nadu, which has more than 7.5 lakh of coronavirus cases, including 11,415 deaths, is the state with the fourth-highest number of cases in India.
The state reported 2,184 new COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths on Wednesday.
Tamil Nadu opposition leader MK Stalin of the DMK criticized Chief Minister E Palaniswami for his “hasty” announcement saying that the decision on the reopening of schools should be made only in January 2021 after analyzing the situation in that moment.
Schools across the country had been closed since March, when the center announced the first stage of the nationwide coronavirus shutdown. The central government, the highest executive authority on matters related to the pandemic, recently allowed the reopening of schools with strict security protocols under its “Unlock5” guidelines.
(With PTI inputs)
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