Mumbai, Jan 5 (PTI) In view of the rise in COVID-19 cases, all non-agricultural, autonomous universities, technical and affiliated colleges in Maharashtra will be shut till February 15, Minister Uday Samant said on Wednesday.

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The minister of higher and technical education said classes will continue online and examinations of all these universities and affiliated colleges will also be conducted online during this period.

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The state government had arrived at the decision considering the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state, he said.

“Classes of all non-agricultural, autonomous universities, technical and affiliated colleges will be closed till February 15. During this period, education will continue online. Also, examinations of all these universities and affiliated colleges will be conducted online,” Samant said.

Schools for Classes 1 to 8 in Mumbai and Pune have already been shut in light of the surge in coronavirus cases.

Maharashtra has seen a sharp rise in infections over the last few days, and recorded 18,466 cases on Tuesday alone. The state has detected 653 Omicron cases so far.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)