Schools, colleges in West Bengal likely to reopen from November 16

The schools and colleges in West Bengal are likely to reopen from November 16, if Covid situation permits, announced West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday. She also said the Central government should conduct a study to gauge why doubly vaccinated people are getting affected by COVID compared to those who have received a single dose.

During a meeting at North Bengal state secretariat ‘Uttar Kanya’, Banerjee directed the Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi to take an overview about the preparedness for reopening the schools.

“After the festive season, we must see that the schools can be reopened post November 15,” Mamata Banerjee told the state Chief Secretary. The school authority will decide on the number of days and classes which will reopen.


“I will ask the Government of India why doubly vaccinated people are getting affected by COVID. They should conduct a study on this. If people are getting infected even after vaccination, then what is the necessity of the vaccination?” she questioned.

Meanwhile, the Education Department has already geared up for the repair of the school buildings and the state government has already instructed them that sanitisation should be completed by October 29.

The classes from Class IX to XII are likely to open in November, sources said. The sanitization of the schools will be started soon. The cleaning and repairing of the schools have already started. Primary schools and Higher Secondary schools were given funds to repair the infrastructure as the schools were closed for more than one and half years. Around 6,468 schools were given grants for repair work.

The doctors have said the schools should be opened maintaining all COVID protocols.

Meanwhile, COVID cases are on the rise in Kolkata and North 24 Parganas districts. “We are not making containment zones now. Rather, we will prefer micro-containment zones now,” Kolkata Municipal Corporation administrator Firhad Hakim said. COVID positivity rate in Bengal has increased to 2.27%. Night curfew has been implemented in Kolkata.