Education Minister Reviews School Reopening As Govt Assures Staff Vaccinations By September

Schools across the country have started reopening after nearly 15 months of being shut since the first lockdown was imposed in March last year. However, concerns regarding the spread of Covid-19 and the lack of adherence to proper Covid protocols has also led to concerns among some, especially parents.  Several critics including students, teachers and parents gave also expressed fears over staff and teachers not being completely vaccinated.

After the first Covid-19 lockdown last year, schools were allowed to operate again after October. But while some states did open schools in a hybrid fashion, the second wave of the pandemic forced authorities to go back to online classes once again in April. Now, schools across several states and UTs like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and others have reopened after establishing strict Covid-19 protocols. 

In wake of  the reopenings, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan held a meeting with senior ministry officials to discuss the future roadmap for amping up vaccinations for school staff. In the course of the meeting, the minister also discussed the status of school reopening on Wednesday.

"Shiksha Mantri Shri @dpradhanbjp reviewed the status of schools reopening across the country with senior officials of Deptt. of School Education & Literacy. He also took stock of the roadmap for vaccinating all teaching & non-teaching staff in schools by the month of September," the Ministry of Education said in a tweet.

Shiksha Mantri Shri @dpradhanbjp reviewed the status of schools reopening across the country with senior officials of Deptt. of School Education & Literacy. He also took stock of the roadmap for vaccinating all teaching & non-teaching staff in schools by the month of September.

— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) September 1, 2021

The ministry added that the Centre is prioritising vaccination of teaching and non-teaching staff in schools across the country to "ensure a safe environment for reopening of schools".

(With inputs from PTI)