Administrators welcome decision to reopen schools in Delhi, parents hesitant

School heads said that the learning gap was exacerbated due to frequent school closures and sought that schools be allowed to function without further disruptions

School administrators in the Capital welcomed the government’s decision to allow the reopening of schools for in-person classes from Monday, while parents said they were hesitant.

Schools in Delhi were asked to suspend in-person classes on November 13 on account of a spike in pollution, barely two weeks after they had reopened for all students for the first time since March last year. (PTI)

Schools in Delhi were asked to suspend in-person classes on November 13 on account of a spike in pollution, barely two weeks after they had reopened for all students for the first time since March last year.

School heads said that the learning gap was exacerbated due to frequent school closures and sought that schools be allowed to function without further disruptions.

Sudha Acharya, the principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka, and chairperson of the National Progressive School’s Conference, a consortium of over 120 private Delhi schools, welcomed the decision.

“The reopening of schools was much needed. Students have stayed away from school for a very long time and it’s time that they return to the classrooms. Parents can also make preparations in the next few days before Monday’s reopening,” said Acharya.

She said that the school was planning to reopen for students in senior classes followed by students in other grades, since a number of classrooms would be occupied by students appearing for the board exams. “At least students in classes 9 and 11 should start coming to school from Monday so that we can hold exams that were disrupted due to the abrupt closure of schools,” said Acharya.

Bharat Arora, general secretary, Action Committee of Unaided Schools, said that it was unfortunate that schools had been closed for a prolonged period on account of the pandemic and pollution. He said that it was imperative that all stakeholders, including policymakers, work together for the resumption of schools.

“Most rural schools under our umbrella had reported good attendance before they were closed due to pollution. They are looking forward to reopening successfully once again,” said Arora.

He said that schools had taken consent from parents for transportation services earlier and were working towards the resumption of bus services.

Arora added that schools that were serving as CBSE board exam centres will have to make some adjustments before the resumption of in-person classes.

Sukhbir Singh Yadav, president of Vice and Principals’ Association of Delhi, and head of a government school in Rohini, also said that the school will have to meticulously plan the timetable to ensure that regular classes are held smoothly along with the board examination. The school will be conducting term-end examinations for students in non-board classes starting next week.

“From December 1, term-end exams will also start. We will have to conduct both the home exams and board exams and make arrangements accordingly,” said Yadav.

Parents had mixed feelings regarding the resumption of in-person classes from Monday.

Aprajita Gautam, president, Delhi Parents’ Association, said that the decision to reopen schools from November 29 was hasty.

“Looking at the current pollution levels, we believe that if the government decides to delay the opening of schools for a few more days and at the same time decides to run school buses for more convenience, then it will be much better,” said Gautam.

Nidhi Mehta, a parent whose daughter studies in Class 4, said that while she was not eager to send her daughter to school, her daughter was looking forward to it.

“While I am not very enthused about sending my daughter to school right now, she is eagerly waiting to go back. Since the number of students is expected to be low, I don’t think it will be an issue if she goes to school. We were satisfied with the protocols adopted by the school when it reopened earlier this month,” said Mehta.