Enforcing Covid SOPs among young students major challenge: Delhi schools

All schools and educational institutes in the national capital will reopen from November 1 for all students, with online classes still continuing for those who wish to study from home, said deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia

With the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) giving the go-ahead for the reopening of schools for students of all classes, both parents school authorities said the key challenge will be to ensure compliance of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour among younger children.

Next Monday will be the first time that children in primary classes will be going to school since the pandemic broke out in March 2020. (HT)

All schools and educational institutes in the national capital will reopen from November 1 for all students, with online classes still continuing for those who wish to study from home, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, said on Wednesday.

Next Monday will be the first time that children in primary classes will be going to school since the pandemic broke out in March 2020. Students of entry-level classes (kindergarten and Class 1) started their schooling virtually and have only met their teachers and peers online; they have no experience of a physical classroom, and regulating their behaviour to ensure compliance with Covid SOPs, changing classroom dynamics, will be a challenge, principals said.

Tania Joshi, principal of The Indian School, said, “Just like we teach alphabets to children, we will have to teach them Covid SOPs. We will have to inform them about the protocols in a manner that they understand. Little children need to be trained to follow the SOPs through reinforcement. Right now, since children have been studying at home, they may not be in the habit of wearing masks for a long period of time,” said Joshi.

The school will be reaching out to parents to seek their feedback and consent before calling students to school for in-person classes. Joshi said while inculcating Covid appropriate habits in children will be a task, resumption of in-person classes was needed.

“After sitting at home for so many months, the psyche of children has been adversely affected. Their social skills have not developed. Even senior students who have started coming to school don’t sound very confident. With children in primary grades, the challenge would be to ensure that they get adjusted to the normal school life,” said Joshi.

She said the school will brainstorm with key stakeholders and take a decision on when to reopen. Teachers will also be counselled to ensure that they help children gently ease back into school life, especially those who started schooling virtually. “Children in kindergarten started school virtually. It will be a big challenge to make them sit in the classroom. The teacher will need to assist and keep a close watch on children in line with the changed scenario amid the pandemic,” said Joshi.

While most parents agreed that a physical classroom experience was crucial for shaping children’s growth and development, they are not ready to send younger children to school just yet.

Driyana Aggarwal, a parent whose child started kindergarten this year, said she was wary of sending her child to school. “I don’t feel confident enough right now and will wait for my child to get vaccinated before I send her to school,” said Aggarwal.

She said while there were challenges in online classes, vaccination of children was crucial. “Children are not able to concentrate much during online classes. They struggle to sit in one place. There is no interaction with peers or practical experiences. School is necessary but I’d prefer to wait for vaccination,” said Aggarwal.

Yogendra Singh, another parent, whose child studies in class 2, said he would wait for some more time before sending his son to school. He said while online classes were fraught with challenges, sending younger children to school was a difficult decision to make.

“As a family, we are still taking Covid-19 seriously. My son can continue with online classes for some more time. He is young and I am not sure if he will be able to comply with all Covid SOPs. Online classes are not easy either and my son has become physically weaker over the past year His eyesight has also been affected but we will wait and see how the Covid situation pans out in the coming weeks,” said Singh.