<span style="color: #222222;">Anticipating a second wave of Covid-19 in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) followed by Thane and Pune's civic bodies decided not to open schools in their respective areas.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">However, as per the orders of Maharashtra Education Department a majority of schools in the rural and semi rural areas are set to re-open tomorrow.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Meawhile, a virtual meeting of divisional deputy directors, principals and education officers was held on Saturday with state Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In the meeting, members of almost all districts apprised the minister about preparedness to start schools as per directives given by the department.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Also the department has made it clear that the final call on opening the schools lies on the local administration.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">AIR correspondent reports, following the instructions of Maharashtra education department, many schools in various districts are ready to resume classes for standard 9 to 12 after almost eight months of closure due to Covid-19 outbreak.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Though the picture is not yet clear on the exact number of districts that will allow reopening of schools, the administration has anticipated that rural areas will see a good number of re-opening of schools on Monday while, urban areas especially Mumbai, Pune and Thane may take some time. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Meanwhile, the education department has also made it mandatory for teachers to undergo antigen or RT-PCR tests for Covid-19.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">It has also clarified that those teachers who test positive should only join the school after they completely recover. </span><br />''