Mizoram postpones opening of schools for 2020-21 academic session

 The Mizoram government has postponed the opening of schools for the 2020-21 academic session for an indefinite period as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease, a minister said.

The government had earlier decided to open educational institutions for the current academic session from July 15.

Mizoram education minister Lalchhandama Ralte said the decision to defer the opening of schools was in line with the Centre's directives.

"We would not be able to open schools during this month as the Union Ministry of Home Affairs directed all the states not to open educational and training institutes till July 31 due to the increasing COVID-19 cases in the country," Ralte said on Friday.

The schools remained closed since mid-March and the state government will take a decision to resume classes after considering the situation, he said.

Mizoram reported 162 COVID-19 cases till Friday. The state now has 35 active cases, while 127 patients have recovered from the disease.

Meanwhile, the class-12 board examinations suspended midway due to the coronavirus outbreak were successfully conducted this week, he said.

The examinations of Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) for remaining subjects in arts, science and commerce streams were held between July 1 and July 3.

About 7,026 students have completed their board examinations in Economics, Chemistry, Sociology, Computer Science and Home Science, he said.

According to the minister, the results of the class-12 board examinations will be declared before July 15.

The class-10 board examinations were over before the lockdown was imposed and the results were declared in May.

The compartmental examinations for class-10 were also held on July 1, the minister added.