West Bengal School Reopening Date: Classes 9 to 12 to resume from Feb 12; check out details

Partha Chatterjee, the Education Minister of West Bengal, on Tuesday, announced the reopening of schools for Classes 9 to 12 in the state. These students are expected to return to the classrooms on February 12, 2021.

Schools in the state were closed on March 16, 2020, to curb the spread of the coronavirus and reminded shut for the past 10 months. Students have been attending online classes for the past months.

Apart from West Bengal, several other states are also expected to reopen schools in February with proper COVID-19 guidelines.

Once the schools reopen all students, staff would be expected to follow proper COVID-19 protocols to prevent its spread. The school administration will be scrutinised on how effectively their institute is following COVID-19 SOPs.

Chatterjee added that schools would be thoroughly sanitised before they are reopened for the students. The minister added that students and teachers are not at any risk of contracting the coronavirus, hence the schools are now reopening. Parents should note that once the schools reopen physical attendance of the students will not be mandatory. Students would have to compulsorily receive the permission of their parents for attending offline classes.

Meanwhile, 2021 West Bengal Board Exams for Class 10 students are expected to commence on June 1, 2021, and will conclude on June 10, 2021. For Class 12 students, board exams will begin on June 15, 2021, and will end on June 30, 2021.  

Some students and teachers have demanded phase-wise resumption of classes. The state Education Minister has said that the government might take this into consideration.

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