From Karnataka to Delhi: Schools, colleges shut across India as COVID-19 cases surge - Full list here

As the COVID-19 pandemic refuses to die down and the caseload is on an upward trend, several states and Union Territories in the country have once again shut schools and colleges. It is to be recalled that in March 2020 when a nationwide lockdown was announced, schools and colleges had been shut down. Offline classes for classes 9-12 resumed in some states, however, now the classes have again shifted to the online mode owing to the massive surge in cases.

Here is a list of states that have shut the schools and colleges again because of the surge in the COVID caseload:

Delhi: The Delhi government has closed all schools in the national capital and said that no physical classes will be held for the academic session 2021-22 till further orders due to a continuous surge in the COVID-19 cases. However, the students of classes 9 to 12 can be called to schools only for providing academic guidance following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and with the consent of the parents.

Karnataka: Except for class 10 students, all the others will continue with the online mode of education in Karnataka. “Keeping in view the increasing COVID cases, the physical classes for standard six to nine has been stopped with immediate effect till the next order,” Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister, S Suresh Kumar, told the media. The decision was taken in view of the health of students in this age group, he added. However, the regular classes for Class 10 students will continue.

Chhattisgarh: The schools and colleges in Chhattisgarh were ordered to be shut down on March 22. The government is yet to announce the date for the reopening of educational institutes.

Tamil Nadu: The Tamil Nadu government also asked schools, colleges to remain shut from March 22 onwards. The date for resumption of educational institutes has not been communicated by the state government yet.

Gujarat: Physical classes in eight corona-hit cities in Gujarat — Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, and Junagadh — have been closed till April 10.

Punjab: Earlier this week, Captain Amarinder Singh-led state government asked schools and colleges to remain shut for another 10 days.

Maharashtra: Several district administrations in Maharashtra have asked all government and private schools, colleges, and hostels to remain closed till further notice amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

Telangana: In view of rising cases of Covid-19 cases, the Telangana government has decided to shut all schools and educational institutions till further orders.

Uttar Pradesh: In the wake of rising coronavirus cases, the Uttar Pradesh government extended to April 11 the closure of all schools for students up to Class 8. Earlier, the Yogi Adityanath-led government had closed schools till April 4.

Madhya Pradesh: Similarly, schools in Madhya Pradesh up to Class VIII will remain shut till April 15, the government in a notification said. Earlier, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government had decided to reopen classes 1 to 8 from April 1.

Himachal Pradesh: All educational institutions in Himachal Pradesh will remain closed till April 15. Earlier the Jairam Thakur-led government had ordered the closure of educational institutions till April 4, but now the closure has been extended till April 15. “All educational institutions, schools/colleges/universities/institutions will remain closed up to 15th April. All teaching/non-teaching staff will however continue to attend their respective institutions”, the state government said.