COVID-19 unlock: Maharashtra to reopen schools from August 17

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Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday (August 10) issued a notification allowing schools to reopen in both rural and urban areas from August 17.

According to the fresh orders, schools for classes 5 to 8 will reopen in rural areas, while in urban areas, classes 8 to 12 will resume.

The government has left it up to the district and local authorities to take a final call after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in their respective areas.

Collectors of districts such as Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Pune, Ahmadnagar, Beed, Pune, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Raigad and Plaghar have been authorised to take the call regarding reopening schools.

The local administrations have been asked to ensure that the COVID-19 guidelines are followed while resuming schools.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had earlier said that there could be another lockdown in case there is a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court today quashed a state government order for conducting the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admissions to Class 11.

The court asked the government to complete the admission process within six weeks.