Maharashtra COVID-19 unlock: Colleges, universities to reopen from October 20, details here

Students can attend colleges and universities in Maharashtra given that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

New Delhi: The Maharashtra government has decided to reopen colleges and universities from October 20 with certain riders. 

Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant said on Wednesday (October 13) that students can attend colleges and universities given that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

"All the non-agricultural colleges, state-run universities, deemed universities, self-financed universities and colleges affiliated to them can start holding physical classes from October 20. The teaching as well as non-teaching staff should complete their vaccination on priority," PTI quoted Samant as saying. 

He added that students must have taken both COVID-19 jabs to attend physical classes and urged unvaccinated students to take the vaccine on priority. "Only the students who have taken both the doses can attend the classes. Those students who are yet to complete their vaccination against COVID-19 should get it on priority by coordinating with their respective colleges,” the minister told reporters. 

It is yet to be decided that how many students would attend a class. Samant said a call would be taken after discussing the matter with the local authorities empowered under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. “Every university should issue the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to the colleges affiliated to it,” he further said. 

On the issue of reopening hostels, Samant informed, “Those students who need to stay at the hostel will be intimated by their college administration. The colleges are supposed to discuss the issue with the officials of higher and technical education officials regarding the opening of hostels for students.” 

The government is also planning to submit a proposal allowing college-going students to board local trains in Mumbai and neighbouring areas before the state chief secretary soon, he stated. 

Earlier, the Maharashtra government had resumed schools for standard 5 to 12 students on October 4 after being closed for over one-and-a-half years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maharashtra logged 2,219 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, which took its total infections to 65,83,896, as per the state health department. With 49 fatalities, the death toll climbed to 1,39,670. 

(With agency inputs)