Aditya Thackeray says shutting schools, colleges in Maharashtra being deliberated upon, not an easy decision

The Maharashtra government is keeping a close watch on the rising Omicron cases and will soon take a call on physical classes in schools and colleges, said Minister for Tourism, Environment & Protocol Aaditya Thackeray on December 27. 

He was speaking at the annual convocation ceremony of the University of Mumbai held at the Fort campus, Hindustan Times reported. “We all have to follow rules, COVID protocols without fail. At present schools and colleges are shut for Christmas holidays but we are assessing the situation at hand and depending on how things pan out, we shall take a call sometime next week,” Thackeray said.

Pointing to the toll that prolonged closure of educational institutions takes on students, he said, "The decision of shutting down schools is not easy because children are missing out on a major part of their development, especially younger children who haven’t even stepped into a school. That apart, we are definitely thinking about their health and safety and a decision, keeping this in mind, will be taken,” he said. 

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Thackeray added that vaccination for those above 15 years of age will begin soon and that should help tackle the growing cases. The in-person annual convocation ceremony was held physically after a one-year gap. However, Education Minister Uday Samant could not be present for the event due to the ongoing assembly session.

Mumbai University Vice Chancellor Suhas Pednekar said, "Starting this year, we will allow colleges to hold their graduation ceremonies in the varsity's prestigious convocation hall, so everyone can experience the grandeur."

Nineteen students were awarded gold medals for their exemplary performance in different fields this year whereas MPhil and PhDs were awarded to 240 students. Due to COVID-19 protocols, only gold medallists were invited for the convocation and the certificates of nearly two lakh graduating students were sent to their respective colleges. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari presided over the event.