Gurugram:
After staying closed for over six months now in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, schools can be expected to reopen after October 15 subject to state guidelines and consent of parents.
Most schools have already readied protocols and measures that would be place as and when they reopen. At the same time, schools said they are likely to continue with online classes for now since parents were not in favour of sending their kids and had not been enthusiastic about the academic guidance sessions either.
The central government has part of its fresh unlock guidelines has allowed state governments to take a call on reopening of schools after October 15. Students will be allowed in schools with consent from parents.
Aparna Erry, principal of the DAV Public School in Sector 14, said the school had sought feedback from parents of students in classes 11 and 12 this week and around 65-75% were not okay with physical classes.
“The guidelines mention that even if the state government allows schools to open, it has to be done with the consent of parents. Two days ago, we had floated a google form for students of classes 11 and 12, seeking feedback from parents regarding school visits. Most parents are not in favour of school visits,” said Erry. She said parents were not keen on sending children to school for short duration, limited classes either.
{{/usCountry}}“The guidelines mention that even if the state government allows schools to open, it has to be done with the consent of parents. Two days ago, we had floated a google form for students of classes 11 and 12, seeking feedback from parents regarding school visits. Most parents are not in favour of school visits,” said Erry. She said parents were not keen on sending children to school for short duration, limited classes either.
{{/usCountry}}“We gave various choices to parents. Overwhelming majority of parents are not in favour of short duration visits to school either. Looking at the response of parents of students in senior classes, we are not expecting any favourable response from parents whose children are in junior classes,” Erry said.
The school already has a sanitisation protocol in place as part of which the whole school campus is sanitised on a daily basis. From the entry gate till the classrooms, sanitisers are in place at various points and to regulate movement, the teaching staff is called to the school on a rotational basis. “We have done the groundwork and these measures can be scaled up whenever schools reopen,” Erry said.
Aditi Misra, principal, Delhi Public School, Sector 45, said chances of initiation of physical visits looked bleak since parents were not yet willing to send children for guidance sessions. Misra said the number of students visiting the school for guidance visits was dwindling, which could indicate the mood of parents.
“While initially, some children had applied for guidance visits, only a few children came to school,” said Misra. She said the school had sought feedback from parents regarding school visits twice in the past six months. “Parents have clearly stated that they are happy with online classes. They don’t want to send children to school due to the fear of jeopardising their health,” said Misra.
The school had served as a centre for the CBSE board compartment exams and has a Covid-19 safety protocol in place. It has placed sanitisers at various points in common areas. Within classrooms, desks have been marked with signs so that distancing rules are complied with. Throughout the school, arrows have been marked for one-way traffic apart from regular sanitisation measures.
“Getting some 100 students for a compartment exam is quite different from calling 6,000 children to school. Due to the increase in strength, the sanitisation will be much more stringent and in-depth when schools start fully. We will have to increase manpower,” Misra said.
Most parents said they would prefer online classes over physical classes till there was a significant improvement in the situation.
“As long as online classes are taking place and a regular continuum of learning is being maintained, I don’t think I would be willing to send my son to school. The pandemic continues to be sensitive and it does not make much sense for schools to reopen due to the health concerns,” said Sonal Kaushik, whose son studies in Class 9 in a private school.