GB Nagar DM to meet school representatives today over re-opening classes 9 to 12

Allaying fears of parents, the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate on Wednesday said that no student would be compelled to go to school.

Allaying fears of parents, the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate on Wednesday said that no student would be compelled to go to school.

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The Uttar Pradesh government, following central government guidelines, allowed schools to open from Wednesday for students of classes 9 to 12, almost seven months after they were shut following the coronavirus disease induced lockdown. The re-opening, however, will be subject to safety protocols put in place at schools.

District magistrate Suhas LY on Wednesday said that he has scheduled a video conference meeting with school principals and school representatives to discuss the issue on Thursday. “We are creating a standard operating procedure to be followed by all schools and children once the school reopens. The issue will be discussed in detail in the meeting. The students will not be compelled to join the offline classes if they do not want,” he said.

Yatendra Kasana, president Gautam Budh Nagar parents’ association, said they were against physical classes. “We have read in news that some developed countries reopened their schools and coronavirus cases started increasing again. They had to shut the schools again. We should not take the decision in a haste as this can put the students at risk,” he said. Kasana said that he conducted a survey of 250 parents and 80% of they were not in favour of sending their children to schools.

Alok Singh, a resident of Sector Alpha 1 in Greater Noida, said that a private school had sent an email to him a few days ago asking if he would sent the children to school. “I replied in the negative. We are not comfortable sending the children to school. The government should wait till vaccine is developed,” he said.

“The schools should leave it to the discretion of parents or students whether to attend schools or not. I am uncomfortable sending my kids to school in the present scenario. Attendance should not be made compulsory, “ said Sector 137 resident Gaurav Kumar Seth, whose son and daughter study in Class X. “We have got intimation from school that they will stop online classes from October 19 which is a cause of concern for me,” he said.

On September 30, 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an order to reopen activities in areas outside containment zones. The MHA guideline stated that the state government may take a decision in respect of reopening of schools and coaching institutions after October 15 in a graded manner. It further stated that the students may attend the schools/ institutions only with the written consent of parents and the attendance must not be enforced, and must depend entirely on parents.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday announced reopening of schools from October 19 for students of classes 9-12 in two shifts. In the first shift, students of classes 9 and 10 may come to school, while in the second shift, students of Classes 11 and 12 may attend classes. A maximum of 50 per cent students should be called in a day and remaining 50 per cent the following day.