With Covid cases declining across the state, the Goa government will resume offline classes for schools from classes 1-12, for the first time since the pandemic, from February 21. The schools will be reopened following the Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and guidelines.
Director of Education Bhushan Sawaikar issued an order asking schools to resume regular classes in offline mode.
"As Covid-19 cases are reducing day by day in the state, it is decided by the competent authority to re-open all the educational institutions from std. I to Std. XII w.e.f 21/02/2022 by following Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and as per SOP guidelines enclosed." the order read.
Schools in the state have been shut down since the emergence of the pandemic, while some schools were functioning in hybrid mode for the last few months, before the third wave of the pandemic.
Earlier, Goa BJP's medical cell chief, Dr Shekhar Salkar, on Wednesday demanded that all the schools should now reopen as the coronavirus situation in the state has improved.
On January 5, the government decided to stop physical classes in schools and colleges and return to the online study mode. On January 3, the state began to inoculate 15 to 18-year-olds as part of the national vaccination programme.