Schools in Delhi won't reopen until government convinced about safety: Satyendra Jain

There is no plan to reopen schools (in Delhi) as of now. We are hopeful that a vaccine will be available soon. Schools will not be reopened till the time we are convinced that students will be safe, the Minister said.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain has announced that the schools in National Capital will not be reopened until the government is convinced about students' safety. Universities and schools across the country were closed on March 16, when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. A nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25.

"There is no plan to reopen schools (in Delhi) as of now. We are hopeful that a vaccine will be available soon. Schools will not be reopened till the time we are convinced that students will be safe," Mr Jain told reporters.

Earlier, Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia has said that the schools in the National Capital will not be reopened until the vaccine against COVID-19 is made available. While several restrictions have been eased in different 'unlock' phases, educational institutions continue to remain closed.

As per the Ministry of Home Affairs Unlock 5 guidelines, states can take a call on reopening schools in phases. Several states had begun the process of reopening schools. However, some of them announced the closing of schools again due to the rise in coronavirus cases.

Earlier, schools across the country were allowed to call students from Classes 9 to 12 to school on a voluntary basis from September 21. However, the Delhi government had decided against it. Delhi recorded 5,246 fresh COVID-19 cases in a day as the positivity rate declined to 8.49 per cent on Wednesday, the lowest since October 28, while 99 more fatalities pushed the city's death toll to 8,720.

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