Key Points:
- Railways have been asked by the government of Maharashtra to allow Teachers to travel through locals.
- The has come after the decision of the state to begin schools for standard 9th to 12th and 50% attendance for the teaching and non-teaching staff.
- The State Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said, “We have proposed the railways to allow train travel for school staff and are hoping to get an approval soon.”
Local trains are considered the lifeline of the city of Dreams, Mumbai. The trains were shut for 6 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic and have recently begun. Local Trains, currently are running for commutators who are Covid-Warriors, Special Duty Officers and Women.
Recently, the state government has written to the railways to allow teachers and school staff to travel by local trains. This comes days after the Maharashtra Government has waived a green flag for reopening schools for standard 9th to 12th and the Education Department has made 50% attendance mandatory for teachers and non-teaching staff in schools.
The Disaster Management Department of Maharashtra wrote to the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railways (WR), asking them to permit teachers to travel by train. The letter read as, “In accordance with the department’s move of implementing 50% attendance for teachers, it is requested that they be allowed to ply by trains.”
The State education minister Varsha Gaikwad said, “We have proposed the railways to allow train travel for school staff and are hoping to get an approval soon.”
राज्य सरकारच्या वतीनं मुंबई व उपनगरांत शाळेत शिकवणाऱ्या शिक्षक, शिक्षिका तसेच अन्य कर्मचाऱ्यांना मुंबई उपनगरीय लोकल ट्रेनने प्रवास करण्याची परवानगी देण्यात आली आहे. यासंदर्भातील निवेदन पत्र मध्य आणि पश्चिम रेल्वे प्रशासनाकडे सुपूर्द करण्यात आले आहे.@Central_Railway@WesternRly pic.twitter.com/YLYsGWjb5o
— Varsha Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) November 11, 2020
The Maharashtra School Education Department recently released the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) ahead of the reopening of schools in the state from November 23. Uddhav Thackeray has said that the schools will reopen for classes 9 to 12.
On November 6, 2020, the state disaster management, relief and rehabilitation department said, “You are hereby requested to direct the concerned to allow teachers and non-teaching staff of schools to use local train services in Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan region (MMR) with immediate effect.” Teachers have been asked to follow the safety guidelines strictly. Wearing Masks, Sanitization, Social Distancing are the basic things that are a must to be followed.
