WB schools, colleges may reopen after Durga Puja vacations: Mamata Banerjee (representational)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the state government is considering reopening schools and colleges, which were shut earlier in view of the second wave of COVID-19. The Chief Minister said educational institutions may reopen in West Bengal after Durga Puja vacations, with classes on alternate days to start with.
Opinion: Why India's Schools Should Open Immediately
Ms Banerjee's comments came a few days after a senior official at the Education Department said the government has no plans to open schools at any level in the near future as there is the threat of a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The official further said whenever school campuses reopen, students of higher classes will be the first to start offline classes and not those at the primary level. He was responding to queries on ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava's statement in Delhi that schools should be reopened with the primary section as children can handle viral infection much better than adults.
The ICMR chief had said that for reopening schools it must be ensured that teachers and other support staff members are vaccinated.