District administration to consult all stakeholders on reopening of schools

A day after the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) issued Unlock 5 guidelines that permitted the reopening of schools in a graded manner after October 15, officials

A day after the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) issued Unlock 5 guidelines that permitted the reopening of schools in a graded manner after October 15, officials from the district administration said that a decision on the same will be taken after consultation with all stakeholders.

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Reacting to the MHA guidelines, a senior official from the district administration said any order regarding the opening of institutes will be taken after due consultation with various stakeholders and departments. “The guidelines say that schools can be reopened after October 15 depending on certain conditions. Any order in this context will be issued only after consultation with various stakeholders and departments and taking cognisance of the ground realities. The education department will share the feedback it receives from parents on this matter with the administration on the basis of which the order will be passed. We will implement the order as and when it’s passed,” said the official, who did not wish to be quoted.

According to the latest guidelines issued by the MHA, the decision for opening schools in a graded manner can be taken by the states/union territories after October 15 “in consultation with the respective school/institution management, based on their assessment of the situation”. Schools across the country were shut in March in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Students in government schools in Haryana have been visiting the campuses for academic guidance sessions on a regular basis since September 21.

District elementary education officer Premlata Yadav said that schools would continue to remain open for students for classes 9 to 12 who need academic guidance. “Senior students from classes 9 to 12 are already visiting the school for academic guidance visits with the consent of parents. These visits will continue to take place. As far as the opening of schools for students in junior classes is concerned, the decision will be taken in due course of time. A discussion on the subject of reopening schools for remaining classes has not taken place,” said Yadav.

Shyam Raghav, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Bhondsi, said that the school was open for all practical purposes since senior students were already visiting the school for academic guidance sessions regularly. “Students in classes 9 to 12 are already visiting the school on alternate days. For us, the school is already open since regular guidance sessions are taking place with the consent of parents. Now, the issue of reopening schools for students of classes 6 to 8 needs to be dealt with,” said Raghav. He said that it seemed unlikely that parents would be willing to send children in junior classes to school even after October 15.“Based on the feedback received from parents, it seems unlikely that they would give consent for routine classes after October 15. Even if the state government were to give a go-ahead for junior classes, parents might remain reluctant about sending children to school,” said Raghav.

Gurugram block education officer Sheel Kumari also confirmed that the number of students visiting the school for academic guidance visits was steadily increasing. “We are seeing an improvement in the number of students visiting the school for guidance sessions on a daily basis. Every day, there is an increase of 1%. This week we saw, around 6% of students attending these sessions,” said Kumari.