The Haryana government on Wednesday ordered that colleges and universities in the state will continue to remain closed till July 31 as per Unlock 2.0 guidelines issued by the Centre.

The government also announced summer vacation in schools from July 1 to July 26 for teaching and administrative staff who had been attending schools, even though no regular classes were being held in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While schools will reopen after summer vacations on July 27, any decision on restarting regular classes will be taken at a later stage, an official said.

In an order issued to vice chancellors of government and private universities, and college principals, the Higher Education Principal Secretary said, “Following Centre's guidelines, the state government has decided that all universities and colleges shall remain closed till July 31.”

However, online learning for students will continue.

“The administrative staff in the universities and colleges will be coming as per the usual protocol for completion of administrative works. However, all precautionary measures as notified by the MHA, Government of India, and by the state government shall be adhered to meticulously at the institutional level,” said the order.

All vice-chancellors have been asked to hold consultations with various stakeholders regarding reopening of higher educational institutions and submit their recommendations to the government within the next 10 days, as per the order.

All colleges, universities and schools in Haryana have remained shut after a coronavirus lockdown was imposed in March.

Meanwhile, according to the Directorate of School Education, summer vacation has been declared from July 1 to July 26 in all schools of the state.

The schools will reopen on July 27, according to the DoE directives, but an official said and decision on resuming regular classes will be taken only when the government takes a decision in this regard, said an official.