AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Education Minister on Monday announced to open all Anganwadi centers and classes for pre-schools/playschools from February 17 as Covid-19 cases are declining in the state.
The state government had earlier announced to start offline education for class 1 to 12 from February 7.
Education Minister Jitu Waghani said that as the children were not able to study, the government felt that the educational foundation of the children enrolled in Standard 1 will not be weakened and for this, special action plan has been prepared to eliminate the learning loss incurred by them.
"After reviewing the situation today, it has been decided to open all Anganwadi centers and schools for children by February 17, 2022. Social distancing should be strictly followed and no student will be forced to come to the school," the minister said.
The consent of parents will be essential for students to attend offline classes. If parents do not permit, students will not be forced to come, they will not be considered absent, the minister added.
The pre-schools in Gujarat were first shut in 2020 during the onset of the first wave of the pandemic. In 2020, educational work in schools and colleges was stopped from March 16. Subsequently, classes for students of Standard 6 to 12 were opened in phases from January to February.