The Jharkhand government on February 25 allowed schools in all the 24 districts of the state to reopen from Class I onwards amid an improvement in the COVID-19 situation.
Earlier, the government had allowed schools to reopen for all classes in 17 out of 24 districts barring Ranchi, East Singhbhum, Chatra, Deoghar, Saraikela, Simdega and Bokaro. The districts were schools remained closed had been reporting a comparatively higher number of COVID cases. In these seven districts, schools were earlier allowed to reopen for classes IX to XII from February 1.
However, offline exams have been barred for Class I to VIII in these seven districts till March 31, a statement from the state government said.
This decision was taken at a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority, chaired by chief minister Hemant Soren on February 21.
Institutions of higher education such as colleges, universities and ITIs were allowed to reopen earlier.
The Jharkhand government on January 3 had reimposed COVID-related restrictions, shutting down all educational institutions and tourist places, and capping attendance in offices at 50%.
The government also allowed swimming pools and stadiums to reopen for all, while permitting sports events with spectators with the permission of concerned deputy commissioners.
Jharkhand witnessed a dip in COVID-19 cases, registering only 62 cases during the last 24 hours, which took the total caseload to 4,34,219 in the state. The toll remained at 5,313 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours.
State capital Ranchi, East Singhbhum and Seraikela reported 11 cases each during the last 24 hours.