The civic body in Mumbai on Friday allowed all schools to resume classroom teaching from pre-primary to class 12 as per pre-pandemic timetable from March 2. As per the circular issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), all schools of all streams and mediums shall start full time and in full capacity from March 2, the nod coming nearly two years after the country went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The BMC has also permitted full-time and full capacity offline classes for schools catering to special and physically challenged students,” an official said. As per the circular, the temperature of each student must be checked before entering into the premises, and schools should ensure 100 per cent attendance of non-teaching staff, all of whom must be fully vaccinated.

The circular also states that schools can give breaks and students may be permitted to have food as per pre-COVID-19 time, while students suffering from comorbidities and chronic diseases, as certified by health officials, will need to produce parental consent. Incidentally, sometime before the BMC circular was issued, Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray had tweeted after a meeting with civic officials.

“Schools will be encouraged to organize vaccination camps for students from age 15 and up, on campus, with @mybmc @mybmcedu and doctors, with the consent of parents, to ensure vaccination rates and protection for students eligible for the covid vaccine,” Thackeray had tweeted. Earlier, on January 24, the BMC had allowed the resumption of physical classes in schools with certain restrictions.

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