The Sikkim government has decided to reopen all educational institutions from Class IX onwards from June 15 after three months of forced closure because of the novel coronavirus.

Sikkim education minister Kunga Nima Lepcha told journalists on Friday that primary, junior and middle schools, however, would not reopen for now, and the ongoing digital classes would be continued for the benefit of the students.

The minister also said all educational institutions would remain open on Saturdays and the annual examinations for schools would take place in February next year. “There will be no morning assemblies and all social distancing norms will be followed in schools and colleges,” he said.

Lepcha said all students from outside the state would have to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine on their return and those from neighbouring Bengal who commute daily would now have to find accommodation within Sikkim.

“The students from Bengal will not be allowed to commute daily. Once they complete the 14-day quarantine here, they will have to stay put in Sikkim. They will have to find accommodation here at their own expense,” he said.

There are many students from Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of Bengal who study in Sikkim.

“It will entail an additional burden for us to find either a room or paying guest accommodation for our son who is studying at a school in Rangpo,” said a parent from Kirney village in Kalimpong district.

The Sikkim government has also urged the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to allow students from Sikkim studying in different parts of the country to write their remaining Class XII papers at centres within Sikkim.

G.P. Upadhyaya, the additional chief secretary in-charge of the education department, said most of the students from the state studying outside had returned home and it would be difficult for them to go back to their original examination centres because of the prevailing situation. “Based on the current situation, it is difficult for our students to travel right now. We are requesting the CBSE to hold exams within the state itself,” he said.

The CBSE had to suspend Class XII examinations midway in March because of the nationwide lockdown. The board later decided to conduct the remaining exams between July 1 and July 15.