Mumbai, October 7: The Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday held a discussion on taking a decision about reopening schools after Diwali next month instead of October 15 in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

The Centre had on Monday issued guidelines for reopening of schools during the Unlock 5 phase. As per these guidelines, schools and coaching institutions can open in a graded manner after October 15. However, the decision on whether to reopen educational institutions rests with the states and Union Territories (UTs). Also Read | Delhi Restaurants to Be Allowed to Operate 24×7, Requirement of Tourism Licences for Running Restaurants to Be Removed: Arvind Kejriwal.

A discussion was held during the state cabinet meeting about taking a decision on reopening schools post Diwali and not from October 15 given the increasing spread of COVID-19, an official statement said. Diwali will be celebrated mid-November.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also instructed the school education department to take a review of online education being imparted to students since the last few months in view of the pandemic.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)