Aurangabad, Jan 13 (PTI) An association of schools in Maharashtra"s Aurangabad has urged the state government to reopen schools, citing that the closure of educational institutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic has affected students. In a video message, the president of the Maharashtra English School Trustees Association (MESTA) warned that if the state government does not change its guidelines, then the association will open schools on January 17. Considering the rise in COVID-19 cases, the state government has shut schools for Classes 1 to 8 to prevent the spread of infection among children. Vaccination drives have been undertaken to inoculate students in the age group of 15 to 18 years. "Schools have remained shut since the last two years and this has been a great loss to students. The government has cited Omicron variant as a reason for shutting schools. However, officials have said that students are not at much risk," MESTA president Sanjayrao Tayade Patil said. "We urge the government to reopen schools. We don"t want any conflict. However, if the decision is not revoked, we will open the schools from Monday," he said. PTI AW ARU ARU