HC upholds state's decision to reopen schools from Nov 16
KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday upheld the Bengal government's decision to reopen schools in the state. A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj, dismissed the PIL challenging the decision to reopen schools on November 16.
Meanwhile, the state Education minister welcomed the decision of the court. "I welcome the decision of the Calcutta High Court. Parents will decide whether to send students to school. The government (West Bengal Government) will not force them in this regard," said state Education minister Bratya Basu.
On Monday, a PIL was filed in the Calcutta High Court alleging that the state had decided to start classes from 9 to 12 "without any proper planning". The petition stated that these students had not yet been vaccinated. If schools are opened without a plan, students are at risk of being infected, it highlighted. The plea sought that an expert committee be formed in this regard.
That committee should recommend how to keep the school running by reducing the time.
The High Court said if any teacher or student feels that they were being directly affected, they could lodge a complaint with the concerned authorities.
On October 25, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced that educational institutions in the state will open up from November 16.
She asked Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi to take necessary measures to facilitate the process of reopening of schools after a gap of 20 months.
The schools, colleges and universities have been asked to make necessary planning regarding how many students will be attending on a particular day depending upon their respective infrastructure abiding by COVID-19 protocols.
The Education department has already conducted a survey of the schools to know the present status of their infrastructure.
On October 29, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education had issued a notification stating that the schools for classes 9 to 12 will reopen in physical mode following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) from November 16, 2021, onwards
