Calcutta HC scraps petition challenging government's decision to reopen schools

HC has stated that the petitioners are not affected in any way through the reopening of the schools. The government has taken the decision to reopen schools after witnessing a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases.

WB School Reopening: Calcutta High Court has scrapped the petition filed in the High court challenging the West Bengal state government’s decision on school reopening for Classes 9 to 12. HC has stated that the petitioners are not affected in any way through the reopening of the schools. The government has taken the decision to reopen schools after witnessing a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases. A division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj also stated that parents or students may approach the school authorities if they have any issues over the commencement of the offline classes.

The petitioners in their plea elaborated that the state government's decision to reopen the schools from November 16, 2021, is unscientific. The plea stated that the government must have formed an expert committee to review the COVID situation and offer the necessary recommendations regarding the commencement of offline classes. As the students are still under 18 and are yet to be vaccinated, there is a possibility of COVID transmission among the students, the petition stated. The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education on October 29 had issued a notification stating that the schools will reopen for the students from Classes 9 to 12 from November 16, 2021, following the COVID protocols.

According to the guidelines issued, classes will be conducted in different time slots for secondary and higher secondary students. The petitioners who wanted notification to be reconsidered asked for an appointment of an expert committee that will look into the current situation and provide expert suggestions to the government regarding the reopening of the schools.

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