Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday reviewed the reopening of schools and called for restoration of normalcy in educational institutions in the wake of rapid vaccination in the county. The Union Education Ministry on Tuesday said that at least 22 states and union territories have reopened schools for all students after a prolonged shutdown due to the CORONA pandemic, while more than 93 per cent of teaching personnel in India has been vaccinated.
Progress of Vaccination of Teaching & Non-Teaching Personnel:
Reviewed the immunization progress of teaching and non-teaching personnel of schools, institutions and skill centres connected to the education and skills ecosystem. With rapid vaccination in the country, we are looking to the future with normalcy and vibrancy restored in our schools and other educational and skill institutions, – Pradhan said in a social forum.
States that have Reopened Schools for all Classes:
Six states and union territories, including Ladakh, Gujarat, Punjab, Nagaland and Jharkhand, have reopened schools for students of classes 6 to 12. Six states and union territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Arunachal, Goa and Puducherry, have reopened schools, for class 9 to 12.
According to ministry data, only in West Bengal and Manipur schools are yet to reopen. While West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced last week that schools would reopen for classes 9 to 12 from November 16, Manipur is yet to take a decision on the matter.
First Wave, Second Wave Destroyed the Education System:
Schools were closed across the country in March last year before the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of CORONA-19. While several states began partially reopening schools for senior classes in October last year, they had to be closed again in April this year due to the aggressive second wave of CORONA-19. It is only in the last four months that states have started reopening schools.
Vaccination Status of Teachers; Reopening Schools:
Mr Pradhan is regularly monitoring the immunization progress of teaching staff and non-teaching staff to ensure an enabling environment to move forward towards reopening schools. He stressed on the need to restore normalcy and vibrancy in educational institutions in view of the rapid vaccination taking place in the country on a large scale.
Vaccination Data Shared by the Ministry Across the Country:
The states that have reopened schools for all classes include Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.
As per the data shared by the ministry, while more than 93 per cent of teaching staff across the country have been vaccinated, centrally-run institutions have recorded 96 per cent vaccination among their teaching staff. At least 87 percent of non-teaching personnel of educational institutions have also been vaccinated.
