During the state cabinet meeting which included chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, on a regular basis, the decision to reopen Himachal Schools was taken on October 26, 2020. From November 2, 2020, on a regular basis for students of classes 9 to 12 the government of HP decided to reopen schools.
However, the government insisted that the consent of parents must be mandatory for students who wish to attend school and attendance would not be compulsory.
In a similar way, throughout the state all colleges would be permitted to reopen. However, the college administrations would need to ensure that COVID-19 guidelines that are issued by the ministry of home affairs are strictly followed by both staffs as well as students.
Urban and Housing Minister Suresh Bhardwaj stated that “Though from November 2, a decision has been taken to reopen schools , schools will not be allowed to make it mandatory for students to attend classes. It should be left to the students to decide if they want to attend classes or not. Students can consult with their teachers and a decision can be taken based upon their academic needs for the current academic session”.
It was also informed by the government officials that all undergraduate first and second-year students would have mass promotions. Nearly 60,000 students would most likely benefit from this decision. Meanwhile, final-year examinations for third-year undergraduate students have already been conducted.