Petition in Calcutta High Court against reopening of schools

A PIL (public interest litigation) was filed in Calcutta High Court on November 8, seeking formation of an expert committee for reviewing the COVID-19 situation and providing necessary recommendations to the government in the matter.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed all schools and colleges in the state to reopen on and from November 16.

The petitioner claimed that students up to the age of 18 years are yet to be vaccinated and physical classes would only increase the chances of COVID-19 transmission among them.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education had on October 29 issued a notification for reopening of schools for students of Classes IX to XII from November 16 with certain guidelines on maintenance of COVID-19 protocol. It specified different time slots for secondary and higher secondary students.

The West Bengal school education department has earlier sanctioned funds for cleaning and sanitising state-run and aided schools.

The West Bengal Government School Teachers’ Association had welcomed this notification on behalf of the teachers.

Praying that the notice be quashed, the petitioner sought appointment of an expert committee which would assess the current situation and then provide suggestions to the government.

The public interest litigation (PIL) said that the government should go by the recommendations of the committee and take its decision on reopening schools accordingly.

The petitioner, a lawyer by profession, said that the PIL is likely to be mentioned before the court of the chief justice later this week.

In the first phase of reopening, offline classes will resume for students of Classes IX to XIII. Schools will have the authority to decide if students will be called on alternate days.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently reviewed the vaccination status of teachers as schools start to open up across the country.

Most states have already opened schools for all classes.