Gandhinagar,  The Gujarat government on Friday announced that colleges, polytechnics, and Class 12th offline education could be commenced from July 15, at 50 per cent capacity and after approval of the students' parents.

With daily Covid-19 cases in the state going below 100, the state government had decided to open colleges and schools after the Rath Yatra on July 12.

On Friday, the core committee meeting headed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani decided to permit offline education in Class 12, polytechnic and colleges from July 15.

The educational institutions conducting offline education will have to maintain 50 per cent capacity and strictly follow the Covid control guidelines.

The state government has also mandated that the educational institutions obtain prior consent form the parents of the attending students. The attendance has also been made voluntary.

However, there has been no decision on reopening of primary schools.

After two consecutive days of zero Covid fatalities, the state saw one death reported on Friday and 56 cases, while 196 patients were discharged.

The Gujarat government, on Thursday, had also permitted all coaching/tuition classes from Class 9 to post graduate, and for competitive examinations, to be functional from Saturday. All these institutions will have to follow all Covid-19 SOPs and function at per cent capacity. All the related staff will also have to have their first dose of vaccine by July 31.