West Bengal: Physical classes for students between standard IX to XII begin after 20 months suspension amid COVID-19 infection spike

with strictly following the pandemic norms and maintaining physical distances in classrooms.

Though most of the educational institutions had been conducting online classes with help of communication technology, like laptops and computers and many more are still now adhering, especially the lower standard classes.

The suspension of physical attendance began in March 2020, when the dreaded pandemic unfolded in India with reports of daily casualties.

State Education Minister Bratya Basu said the schools should reopen in a phased manner with the improvement of the situation.

He also said the parents would be the best judge to decide if their wards want to attend the classes physically as the attendance ( physically) would not come into the way of any assessment.

Currently, students of IX, X, XI and XII will be allowed to attend in-person classes and they have been asked not to bring books and notebooks and the authorities intend to conduct frequent outdoor classes.

Physical classes for senior school students started for a short duration in mid-February this year.

“Our focus will be on the resumption of the academic session. But we aim to allow all our students to resume their academic activities. We will resume physical classes for all students in a phased manner. We are also reopening colleges and Universities. We want to monitor the situation for the time being and then we will resume physical classes for all in a phased manner. We intend to open physical classes for everyone,” said the state education minister.