Maharashtra teachers to be fully vaccinated before schools reopen: Ajit Pawar

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that the State government planned to fully vaccinate all teaching and non-teaching staff before the reopening of schools.

Speaking in Mumbai, Mr. Pawar reiterated that the final decision on starting schools in the State would be taken by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after his discussion with the State COVID-19 task force, which is due on Sunday.

“While [State Education Minister] Varsha Gaikwad had declared a reopening date during an earlier review, the final decision rests with the CM who has said he would announce a date only after discussing the matter with the task force…while schools have reopened in some States, students tested positive within a few days. Kerala has the highest number of patients, followed by Maharashtra, and even the Centre has directed to take required measures to celebrate festivals indoors,” he said.

“Hence, we have decided that until a decision is taken, we will fully vaccinate teaching and non-teaching staff in schools, be they Zilla Parishad or government schools, grant or non-grant institutions,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

“By this, even parents will be relieved to an extent if both doses of the vaccine are administered to teachers and other staff of the school their child is attending,” he added.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for School Education, Bacchu Kadu, informed that a decision on re-commencing schools in Maharashtra will be taken in the next two days.

“A meeting on this is to be held within the next couple of days. Schools have started in other parts of the country, so it should be started in our own State, too. But the decision will have to be taken carefully keeping in mind that Maharashtra has the highest number of active cases after Kerala,” he said.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Sunday had said the State government planned to fully vaccinate all teaching and non-teaching staff against COVID-19 by September 5.

Mr. Tope had said that a special drive was being conducted to achieve this, and that the State COVID-19 task force was of the opinion that schools in districts which were not reporting positive cases could be reopened.