Schools allowed to reopen in West Bengal

West Bengal announced that schools will be allowed to reopen from the 12th of February as long as they follow and maintain required health protocols. Partha Chatterjee, the West Bengal Education Minister, said that the government is planning on only allowing students of classes 9-12 to attend school and that they would consider opening school for junior students at a later time. There are lakhs of students preparing to give board exams from West Bengal and they will be rushing to complete practical work before the ISC and ICSE exams later this year. It is mandatory for the parents of the children attending school to sign a consent form. States like Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh are also opening schools for senior classes this month. After almost a year of online classes, many students are eager to go back to school despite the risk of getting COVID-19.