Following quite a stability and decrease in the fatalities that were observed during the second wave of coronavirus, the nation is once more, encountering a flood in COVID-19 cases. With the looming third wave and another variation called ‘Omicron’ on the ascent, a few states and UTs are now forcing curfews and limitations across the states. This has been brought into action with the sole aim of checking the spread of the infection. Significant urban communities like Delhi and Mumbai are encountering a dramatic expansion in COVID-19 diseases and henceforth, they are constrained to investigate severe measures and lockdown.
With the country being on high alert, several states have imposed night curfews, weekend curfews. Various public places have been either shut/ have been restricted for a limited time in a day. Several state governments have ordered shut schools and colleges which has severely impacted the educational life of a number of students. States includingMumbai, Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, and West Bengal have ordered schools, universities, and other educational institutes to shut down.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday requested all schools to shut down up to Class 10 till January 15, 2022and extended the night curfew by 2 hours. The Karnataka government additionally has chosen to close schools and pre-college universities aside from Classes 10 and 12 students for quite a long time. Check out the list of states who have ordered to shut schools until further notice:
Bihar School, Colleges Closed
Considering the increase in cases and slow vaccination drive for children, the Bihar government has ordered to shut schools in the state till the 8th standard. Schools will remain shut in the state until any further orders. Classes 9 to 12th and other education institutions can continue their respective physical lectures.
Chandigarh Schools Closed
The state government has imposed fresh curbs to contain the spread of the Omicron infection. As a feature of these new measures, schools, universities and other educational institutes that fall under the Union Territory have been requested to close. Currently, schools and universities have been ordered to conduct online lectures until further notice.
Telangana Schools Closed
The state schools have been ordered to remain shut from January 8 to January 16, 2022, as the Chief Minister of the state K. Chandrasekhar Rao declared a holiday for all schools and colleges during a review meeting.
Delhi Schools, Colleges Closed
Due to a sudden surge in COVID cases especially in cities with international travelers, state government has ordered to shut down schools, universities, and other education institutions until further orders. Meanwhile, the Delhi government has also announced winter vacations for classes 1 to 5. Schools in Noida have been ordered to shut until January 14, 2022.
Maharashtra Schools Closed, State Witnesses Huge Rise in Omicron Cases
The state has announced to shut schools until any further notice. Apart from this colleges and universities across the state have been ordered to discontinue physical labs and lectures till February 15, 2022. Maharashtra recorded 900 fresh omicron cases with most of them being from Mumbai and Pune. Schools in Nashik have been ordered to shut for classes 1 to 9 and 11. Learning activities have been decided to shift in online mode for all the classes except 10th and 12th. Primary schools have been shut down in Pune’s Pimpri districts.
Diu Closes Schools, Anganwadi
State government has requested to shut down Anganwadi Centres, Pre-primary, Primary, and secondary section classes in all schools until further notice.
Chhattisgarh Schools CLosed
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel ordered districts with more than 4% positivity rate to shut down schools in their respective region. The order is applicable to Anganwadi and Libraries as well.
Karanataka Schools Shut
Previewing the covid 19 situations across the state, the Karnataka government has decided to shut schools, colleges and other educational institutions across the state for the next two weeks starting from January 06, 2022. However, class 10th and 12th students have been permitted to continue with their physical classes.
Uttar Pradesh Schools Closed, Classes Online
Uttar Pradesh government has imposed restrictions on state schools, ordering them to remain shut from January 06 to January 14, 2022, respectively. The decision of shutting schools was taken into consideration due to the upcoming winter vacation which was on the way. No updates on the closure of colleges have been made by the government.
Jharkhand Schools, Colleges Closed due to Covid curbs
Schools, Colleges across Jharkand have been ordered to close till January 15, 2022. The decision was made to control the spread of COVID-19 infections amongst students while many of them are still unvaccinated.
Tamil Nadu Schools Colleges, Colleges Exams Postponed
Schools for classes 1 to 8 have been closed due to a rise in COVID cases until January 10, 2022. Restricted guidelines have been imposed for classes 9 to 12 and college students across the state.
Punjab Schools Closed, Night Curfew Implemented
As per the fresh partial lockdown guidelines which have been imposed across the state to contain the spread of infection, the Punjab government has shut the schools and colleges on January 15, 2022, as per the new lockdown-like guidelines announced. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has imposed night curfews and mini lockdown-like curbs amid the spread of highly infectious Omicron variant.
Goa Schools, Colleges Closed Till Republic Day
The government of Goa has ordered schools and colleges to shut down on January 26, 2022. Amid the rise of Covid-19 cases across the nation, the state has decided to halt the physical lectures for classes 8 and 9 until further orders.
Rajasthan Schools Closed in Jaipur, Jodhpur; District Collectors Will Announce About Other Places
Rajasthan State Government has ordered to shut primary and upper primary schools in Jaipur. As a part of the new covid restriction, the government has shut the schools across the state till classes 8 until January 09, 2022.
Haryana Schools, Colleges Closed
Amid a surge in COVID cases, the Government of Harayana has requested to shut schools and colleges thereby declaring winter vacation for classes till the 12th standard until January 12, 2022.
Odisha Schools, Colleges Closed in Fresh Covid Curbs
Keeping in view the rise in the number of daily cases and based on the feedback provided by parents across the state, the state government has decided not to reopen schools for students of Classes 1 to 5 from January 3. The education minister Samir Ranjan Dash made the announcement in this regard.
Currently, 13 out of 28 states and 3 UT s have ordered schools and colleges of their respective states to shut down. Others refrain from closing the schools and would like to continue the physical classes. These states are planning to get students vaccinated before upcoming board exams.
Schools have been caught in the pattern of repeated closures in the year 2021. Specialists have rung alerts for long-term consequences and enlarging learning gaps which can be seen if this continues. With the danger of a third wave posing a potential threat, school administrators feel plainly that there will be more closures in the upcoming years hence, an efficient roadmap for 2022 is essential.
