All kindergarten schools to remain shut in TN until March 31

Schools for kindergarten (KG) students, that includes pre, lower and upper KG, will remain shut across all districts in Tamil Nadu from March 16, Monday, until the end of this month. In districts closer to Kerala border – Kanyakumari, Thirunelveli, Tenkasi, Theni, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Nilgiri – schools will be shut from KG to standard 5.

This is Tamil Nadu government’s first big announcement, as precautionary to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, and it came on Friday. This announcement is applicable to all boards of education in the state.

In the circular issued by School Education Commissioner to all primary schools in the state and to all education officers, it instructs that all schools irrespective of boards should remain shut during this period. The circular states that this is a precautionary measure to tackle coronavirus. The circular also instructs the education officers to submit a report of all the precautionary measures taken thus far in this regard.

Tamil Nadu has not made any announcements with regard to shutting down of public spaces so far. This announcement comes as the first precautionary shut down by the government. While the month of March is usually the time for examinations, the circular does not mention if the scheduled exams will be held for these primary classes at a later date of if they will be cancelled altogether.

In Karnataka, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar directed schools in Bengaluru to suspend classes immediately as a measure to contain the spread of coronavirus on Thursday. Karnataka government had already cancelled exams for classes 1 to 6.

In Kerala, school for students of all boards till class 7 suspended. All anganvadis have been shut and mid-day meals is being delivered home. In Maharashtra, schools in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad areas will remain shut till further orders.