Majority of parents not in favour of reopening of schools: Report

The district education department on Sunday said that there was a need to review the ever-changing Covid-19 situation and hold further consultations to decide on

The district education department on Sunday said that there was a need to review the ever-changing Covid-19 situation and hold further consultations to decide on a time frame to reopen schools instead of on July 1, as decided earlier. The department said that most parents were not in favour of schools reopening at a time when coronavirus cases in the city are on the rise.

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In a report submitted to the directorate of education, the department also wrote that most stakeholders were in favour of continuing distance/online learning in view of the current situation. The report was prepared by the department based on a discussion with 62 parents, students, teachers and schools representatives that took place on Saturday.

During the discussion, most members agreed that the situation could be reviewed again after every 15 days. Some members also suggested that the government could share with schools the standard operating procedure (SOP) so that they can make plans in line with the instructions. They also recommended the reopening of schools in a phased manner.

Prior to the meeting, an internal survey was also conducted by the department to take into the views of the participants on the issue of reopening of schools. Around 80% of the participants said that they were not in favour of schools reopening, while 13% opted in favour of partial reopening. Around 65.4% members suggested that schools should be reopened later as per the situation, while 14.8% members opted for August as the month of reopening. Around 12.3% members suggested that schools should open in July.

Aparna Erry, principal, DAV Public School, Sector 14, said she had been receiving emails from parents who were worried about an immediate reopening of schools. “Parents want the situation to stabilise before they can send children to schools. They have said that they won’t be sending children to school if they were to reopen in July. The number of coronavirus cases is increasing due to which parents are worried. They will be ready to send children to school only after number of Covid-19 cases come down,” said Erry.

During the meeting, most participants from government schools said that maintaining physical distancing in government schools was not feasible with the available infrastructure and facilities in place. Some government school participants said that senior students could be called to school in a staggered manner. Members of private school organisations said that schools in other countries had reopened when the Covid-19 curve started going down, whereas in India, the curve was going up. While members said that online classes could be continued, participants from government schools raised their concerns regarding online classes. Members said that most government schools were struggling with online classes since many students were not equipped with necessary devices and high-speed internet facilities.

District education officer Indu Boken said that most schools and parents were not prepared for the reopening of schools. “Members said that they were not ready to send children to school until the Covid-19 graph started flattening. Some students also said that even if the schools were to reopen, parents wouldn’t send them to schools,” said Boken.