E-Paper
‘Many in favour of reopening schools in Delhi', says Manish Sisodia
Manish Sisodia, on July 29, invited suggestions from stakeholders, including parents and teachers, over the reopening of educational institutions, which have remained mostly shut since March 2020 on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said the government has been reviewing the suggestions received from the public on reopening of schools in the national capital and that several people were in favour of educational institutions reopening for in-person sessions, with riders.
Sisodia, on July 29, invited suggestions from stakeholders, including parents and teachers, over the reopening of educational institutions, which have remained mostly shut since March 2020 on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Classes briefly resumed in a staggered manner between January and February before being suspended again due to the fourth wave of the pandemic in the Capital. All classroom sessions are currently being held online in Delhi. According to officials, the government has so far received over 32,000 responses from stakeholders.
“We are reviewing the suggestions from the public, some demanded the reopening (of schools), others didn’t. A decision is to be taken soon based on all factors (vaccines for children, daily case count, etc) and the feedback. Largely, it seems that many people want it (schools’ reopening),” he said while speaking to the media on Monday.
Several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat, have either partially reopened schools or are in the process of doing so this month.
The Uttar Pradesh government has announced plans to reopen schools for classes 11 and 12 from August 16.
A senior government official, requesting anonymity, said, “The government will review all suggestions. An analysis of the suggestions will be placed before the DDMA (Delhi Disaster Management Authority) in the next meeting. Any decision will be taken after properly analysing the Covid-19 situation.”
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Education (DoE) on Monday asked all heads of government schools to ensure that teachers and staff members have received at least one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“It must be appreciated that the very idea of reopening schools for children will remain unviable as long as all our teachers do not get vaccinated, at least, once,” the DoE said in a circular. The school principals have been asked to submit a report on the vaccination status of their staff by August 7.
