Students of Guru Nanak Dev University and Khalsa College in Amritsar staged a demonstration on Monday demanding the reopening of colleges that have been closed due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Punjab School Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla on Friday said that as Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced the closure of educational institutions in the state till March 31. The school education department has also decided to postpone exams of all classes till March 31, 2021.

Singla said that the Congress government is committed to ensuring the safety of the school students and every possible step will be taken to curb the COVID-19 contamination.

The education department will release a fresh schedule/date sheet of exams before March 31 and the mode of examination could also be reviewed as per the situation.

According to the Union Health Ministry, Punjab recorded 2,644 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The state reported the second-highest daily cases after Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, as many as 46,951 new cases were registered in the country in the last 24 hours. India’s total active caseload stands at 3,34,64.