Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the schools, which had shut down in March because of the Covid pandemic, would remain closed at least till the first week of December and a decision on reopening would be taken after that.

“Schools will remain closed till the first week of December and the government will see after that,” Mamata said at an administrative review meeting at Nabanna.

Sources in the school education department said the chief minister’s comment followed feedback from officials of the department who had met on Monday to discuss the possibilities of reopening schools.

Since the Madhyamik and higher secondary examinations are only months away, there is a plan to start reopening with the students of Classes IX, X, XI and XII.

“A detailed guideline has to be worked out to execute the plan. Therefore the government is taking time,” said the official.

Another official of the department said the government was unsure about reopening schools because a large number of Covid cases — despite a recent drop in the active case count — are still being reported from across the state.

“The situation may worsen as another round of festivals is approaching and there could be gatherings in public places. There is a fear that the virus could become more virulent in winter. So, the government is not saying anything on when schools will reopen,’’ the official said.

In Bengal, the number of government-run primary schools is close to 52,000. State-aided secondary and higher secondary schools total 12,000 and 7,000, respectively. Besides, there are scores of private schools.

An order signed by the chief secretary on Monday stated that in-person classes and assemblies in schools (including anganwadi centres), colleges and universities would continue to be disallowed as a precaution against Covid.

Mamata had said towards the end of July that the government might reopen schools and colleges on alternate days in September “if the situation improves in August’’. The plan had to be scrapped as the Covid situation continued to be grim.

“The Covid situation is constantly fluctuating and the government is unwilling to commit to any dates now,’’ said an official of the education department.

First-year classes at state-aided colleges and universities are likely to start on digital platforms in December.

The University Grants Commission on Thursday sent to all state governments a guideline for physical reopening colleges and universities. “We are reviewing the advisory,” said an official in the higher education department.