Mumbai, Nov 20 (IANS): The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation on Friday ordered all schools and junior colleges in the country's commercial capital to remain shut till December 31 as a precaution against the spread of Covid-19, an official said.

However, the class 10 and 12 Board Examinations shall be conducted as per the schedules already announced, said an official statement.

In the 'Unlock' process, the Maharashtra government had earlier permitted schools to reopen in phases starting from November 23 for Class 9 to Class 12, and later for other lower classes.

However, in view of the spurt in new Corona cases and deaths post-Diwali, the BMC has decided against implementing the order till December 31, an official told IANS.

Simultaneously, the state government has tasked local district administrations to take a decision on reopening of schools and colleges in their jurisdiction, depending on the ground-level Covid-19 situation.

The official said that the decision was taken after the BMC analysed the pattern and extent of Covid-19 spread among students in other states like Andhra Pradesh where the schools were reopened.

Accordingly, all schools in Mumbai shall continue to conduct classes via video-conferencing till December 31.

Mumbai Principals Association (MPA) Secretary Prashant Redij welcomed the move, saying it had been demanding this since long in anticipation of very poor attendance of both students and teachers for the regular offline classes.

"We had suggested to the government to first open schools in green zone, study the impact before allowing other zones. We did not expect more than 15-20 percent students to attend the classrooms starting from Monday," Redij told IANS.

With 10,627 fatalities and 2,72,455 cases till date, Mumbai remains the country's worst-hit Corona hotspot from mid-March when the first death was reported here.

The state and civic authorities now apprehend the possibility of a 'second wave' of Covid-19, necessitating the measure to shut down schools till December 31.