Puducherry shuts schools for class 1-9 amid rising COVID-19 cases

Classes 1 to 9 will be conducted in online mode across the UT until further orders.

Puducherry: All schools conducting offline classes for students from grade 1 to 9 will remain shut from Monday (January 10) in the Union Territory due to an unabated rise in the number of Covid 19 cases.

Home and Education Minister A Namassivayam said in a release that online classes would resume for students of Classes 1 to 9 as holiday has been declared for these classes from tomorrow until further orders.

Director of School Education P T Rudra Goud said all schools including the privately managed and government-aided institutions would remain closed in view of 'surge in number of daily cases,' until further orders.

A spokesperson of the Department of Health had told PTI that the department had recommended to the government to declare holiday for the schools conducting classes for students of grade 1 to 9 in view of virtually alarming trend of occurrence of fresh cases.

The government reopened schools for classes 1 to 9 on December 4 with the pandemic situation showing signs of abatement. But since the last few days, the new cases is on the increase and it touched 444 cases during last 24 hours ending 10 am Sunday.

The government has already dispensed with the physical conduct of the 25th National Youth Festival and has announced that it would be inaugurated on January 12 by Prime Minister through the virtual mode from Delhi on January 12.