Chandigarh, January 6: Schools in the north Indian state of Punjab, shut since the past two months amid fears of COVID-19 second wave, would reopen from tomorrow. Barring the students of pre-primary level, all others enrolled in classes 5 to 12 can attend the classes from Thursday. The operational hours of school have been restricted.

State school education minister Vijay Inder Singla, while announcing the reopening of all public and private schools, said the decision has been taken after considering the requests made by parents and inputs received from the health and education departments. Night Curfew in Punjab Lifted, Rules for Social Gatherings Relaxed.

The school timing, for an interim period, will remain fixed as 10 am to 3 pm. The management of the educational institutions would need to ensure the adherence of COVID-19 safety norms by students and teachers. The classrooms would be regularly sanitised, in accordance to the guidelines issued by the government.

The education department had reportedly told the Capt Amarinder Singh-led government that reopening of schools is necessary for the revision of students ahead of the exams. The parents of Class 10 and 12 students had also been seeking the resumption of classes, considering the crucial board examinations which are expected in first half of this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 06, 2021 04:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).