Now that the second wave of COVID appears to be firmly in the rear-view mirror, schools in Puducherry and Karaikal are all set to reopen from July 16 for students of Classes 9 to 12, Chief Minister N Rangaswamy announced on Sunday. Students will be allowed to come to school for half a day, from 10 am to 1 pm.

In a statement released on Monday, the Directorate of School Education in the union territory, confirmed that schools will reopen after being shut for a period of nine months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the statement, not just government school but private schools too will be allowed to reopen. Students will be allowed to attend offline classes following strict COVID protocols. The government had earlier reopened schools for students of Classes 10, 11 and 12 to clear doubts prior to their board examinations this year.

Puducherry follows Gujarat, which announced on Friday that schools in the state will reopen from July 15 with just 50 per cent capacity and only for students of Class 12.