Rajasthan sets up cabinet committee to decide date for school reopening

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government has set up a 5-member cabinet committee to decide the date for opening schools in the state. The move came a day after state education minister Govind Singh Dotasara announced that the schools would reopen from August 2. The committee will also decide students of which standards are to be allowed to attend schools.

The committee consists of Govind Singh Dotasara, health minister Raghu Sharma, agriculture minister Lalchand Katariya, higher education minister of state Bhanwar Singh Bhati and technical education minister of state Subhash Garg.

In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, it was decided that the education department would issue an SOP for schools in Rajasthan so that Covid-19 guidelines could be followed. However, the final date to open schools was not decided. Dotasara announced after the meeting that the should reopen for children of all standards – nursery to Class 12 – from August 2, inviting sharp criticism from parents and many experts.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that in the wake of the possibility of the third Covid-19 wave, there was a need for a detailed discussion on the SOP for schools before they are allowed to reopen.

“We have set up a five-member cabinet committee to deliberate on this. We would take feedback from the union health ministry and all the states which have allowed schools to reopen. Based on their feedback and experience, we would come up with an SOP,” Gehlot said.