Schools and colleges in Bengal will remain closed till June 10 because of the Covid-19 situation, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Saturday.

The order applies to all state-aided and private schools, including madarsas, and all aided and private colleges and universities, an official of the Bengal government said.

“Schools, colleges and universities usually close for summer vacation on May 15. On many occasions we had advanced the summer vacation. This time the lockdown will continue till April 30. So, we have decided to keep the educational institutions closed till June 10,” the chief minister said at a news conference at Nabanna on Saturday afternoon.

The summer vacation in most institutions continues till June 10 to 15.

The state has around 59,000 primary schools and 18,000 secondary schools, close to 550 colleges and more than 32 universities.

There is, however, no clarity yet from the government about when the pending board exams would be completed. An official of the school education department said the government would decide on when the exams could be held only after the lockdown was lifted.

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) had on March 19 deferred the ICSE and ISC exams. The Bengal higher secondary examinations, too, have been deferred.

Gerry Arathoon, the secretary and chief executive of the CISCE, said on Saturday the schools in Bengal would follow the directive of the state government about the extension of the closure of educational institutions till June 10.

The CISCE had recently issued an advisory to its 2,200-odd affiliated schools in the country advising them to follow the directives of their respective state governments in regard to measures being taken to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“The schools in Bengal can keep the institutions closed till June 10. We have issued an advisory to our affiliated schools asking them to follow the directives related to the measures being taken by the state governments to combat the coronavirus outbreak,” Arathoon told Metro.

At many schools, the new session had not started when they were closed down on March 16. If there is no further extension of the closure, the schools will lose 45 teaching days, sources said.

Arathoon said the council would consider relaxation of the mandatory instructional hours which the schools are supposed to abide by.

“This is a very extraordinary situation. We will think of giving some relaxation to the schools if they are not able to fulfil the required number of classes this year,” Arathoon said.

In most colleges and universities, the semester exams were supposed to start in April and continue till May. All semester exams will be conducted after June 10, an official of the higher education department said.

The universities and colleges, however, will be asked to ensure that online classes are regularly held during the period the institutions would remain close.

Virtual classes

Education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Saturday that virtual classes for IX to XII in state-aided Madhyamik and higher secondary schools, which are being telecast on ABP Ananda, will continue as there is “immense “ response from the students.

Around 1 crore students have registered for the classes. More than 10,000 students view the portal.