About 62% of surveyed parents in Maharashtra are unwilling to send their children to school. As Maharashtra orders reopening its schools, state cabinet minister Aditya Thackrey said that the move is meant only for few districts. He added that the decision rests squarely on parents whether they want to send their children to schools or not. The statement from Thackeray comes after Maharashtra school education minister, Varsha Gaikwad, said that schools in Maharashtra for classes 1 to 12 are to be re-opened on January 24 (Monday) with Covid-19 protocols. “We’ve not made students’ physical presence mandatory in schools. A few districts are opening schools, a few districts are not. Parents may send their wards with permission. We request everyone to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour,” Aaditya Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency ANI on Sunday. Schools in the state were shut in the first week of January due to the surge in coronavirus disease cases, but as the daily numbers came down, the state decided to reopen schools in offline mode. However, schools in Pune will not resume physical classes due to the rising Covid cases. Schools will remain online in the district for at least next one week, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said earlier.
