Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will take a call on re-opening schools in the state, which has taken a political colour with the CPM students’ wing taking to the streets to demand the same, but in-person classes are likely to begin when they do in phases.

“We have launched neighbourhood school now which will benefit 60 lakh school students across the state. The private schools too can participate in this initiative,” said state education minister Bratya Basu during a news conference on Monday.

Under the scheme Paray Shikshalaya (neighbourhood schools), students of pre-primary and primary classes will be taught in the open air, an initiative that was taken by Left-backed organizations in 2021.

“We want to reopen the schools in phases. The chief minister is personally monitoring the Covid situation, vaccination for the students as well developing immunity. We want to avoid a situation where classes will have to be abandoned again,” said Basu.

The scheme was announced on the same day that saw Maharashtra reopening all schools in the state, though local district administrations have been allowed to take the final decision on the actual number of schools to be re-opened, depending on the Covid situation prevailing in a particular locality.

Schools in the state were abruptly shut down following a steep rise in Covid cases in Calcutta and other districts following unrestricted public gatherings during Christmas the New Year. While several of the restrictions imposed have been since lifted or relaxed, schools and colleges continue to remain shut, for which parents too have hit the streets.

Educational institutes have remained shut since the lockdown was first imposed in March 2019, and academic sessions have been disrupted for most of these 34 months, with only classes IX to XII resuming physical classes for brief periods.

Members of the CPM’s students’ wing, SFI, were stopped from proceeding to Bikash Bhawan, where the education minister’s office is, to submit a deputation. The 10-15-odd student leaders were stopped midway at Salt Lake’s Karunamoyee after which they squatted on the road and were arrested.

Last week, a public interest litigation was filed in Calcutta High Court seeking its intervention to reopen schools.

A release from the state health department, recorded 6,980 new Covid cases in the state, with 36 fatalities on Sunday.