scorecardresearch
Friday, March 29, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeIndiaEducation‘Playing with fire’: Parents oppose Modi govt suggestion to reopen schools from...

‘Playing with fire’: Parents oppose Modi govt suggestion to reopen schools from July

An online petition on change.org, which has garnered over 2 lakh signatures, urges the government to not start school until there are ‘zero Covid cases’.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

New Delhi: Parents are opposing the Ministry of Home Affairs’ suggestion that schools reopen in July.

An online petition on change.org, which has garnered over 2 lakh signatures by Monday morning, urges the government to not start school until there are “zero Covid cases”. The petition has described the idea of re-starting school as “playing with fire”. 

Started on Saturday by a group called Parents Association, the petition says, “Opening of schools in July will be the worst decision by the Govt. It’s insane. It’s like playing with fire when we ought to douse it with full force. The parents should fight against this stupidity with tooth n nail, not a single child to be sent to the schools for their own safety (sic).”   

The petition has called for the current academic session to continue in e-learning mode. “If the schools claim that they are doing a good job via virtual learning then why not continue it for the rest of the academic year,” it says.  

Parents have raised concerns about their children being exposed to Covid-19.  

“Children might not be conscious of sanitising hands or constantly maintaining physical distance, it is not a good idea to call them back to schools,” said Garima Taneja, a parent whose child goes to a school in Bengaluru.  

Some parents also said it will be acceptable to them if their children even lose an academic year.

“I don’t mind if my son has to miss a school year. My wife and I can homeschool him. I am more worried about him being exposed to infections when he goes back to school,” said Santosh Sharma, whose eight-year-old son goes to a private school in Delhi. 


Also read: Govt plans ‘tech-savvy’ additions to National Education Policy to adapt it to Covid reality


Decision on schools reopening in July

In its notification released Saturday, the MHA had said opening of schools and colleges will be possible in the second phase of lockdown relaxation. It, however, added that the decision “will be undertaken in July in consultation with states and union territories, who in the meantime, shall hold meetings at the institution level with parents and other stakeholders”.

“Based on the feedback, a decision on the re-opening of these institutions will be taken in the month of July, 2020,” the guidelines said. It added that the health ministry will prepare standard operating procedures (SOPs) for these institutions. 

Even as the Ministry of Human Resource Development has not announced the dates for opening of schools so far, it is ready with a plan. The plan is to call only older students to school, have staggered attendance and ensure social distancing norms. 

“The decision to re-open schools will only be taken after proper consultation with ministries of health and home affairs. Meanwhile, safety guidelines for children are being worked out,” a senior official in the ministry said. 


Also read: My teacher once asked how could I be good in Sanskrit: Tribal woman scholar who’s now a V-C


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

71 COMMENTS

  1. Govt should pass the students of class12 by seeing their marksheet of class 10….and govt should not increase the percentage of 80%above…less then 70% only the marks of the students whose percentage would be50% should only get grace…

  2. Till when are the students going to sit at home and be mentally and physically sick and depressed
    16-25 ages should be allowed to go to school and colleges as they have good immunity and are more prone to mental sickness caused by sitting at home
    No one knows till when covid is going to last better open institutions with necessary precautions

  3. I think that the govt. should cancel the whole session this year b’coz corona is breaking new records day by day. It would be very risky to reopen schools and colleges after taking a look on example that has shown by Israel and Korea. It would be impossible this year to hold the school’s session b’coz in India,this pandemic will take time to get over as it is the second largest country in terms of population. We have seen that how China is getting new cases of corona day by day. Therefore,my suggestion is to declare this year as a drop for every student b’coz HEALTH FIRST!!!

  4. Schools must also stop asking for fees. Most of the schools are demanding for full fees in place of only tuition fees in New Dehli . Govt. should also look into this matter and take immediate action..

  5. This year all students who has recently entered in 10th and 12th class are suffering because in online lecture videos are blur as all schools don’t have a proper setup. So I think if all school can setup a proper system then students will not face any problem. Can study from home. Until we can’t control cases of corona in India

  6. School , coaching institutions and even colleges shouldn’t be reopened till December to February as reopening will cause horrific situation all over the country as u can simply analyse from the current situation after unlock 1 and 2 in India ,the cases of covid-19 achieving new records day by day. No new norms in school, coaching institutes and colleges can’t prevent student interaction or maintaining social distancing anytime and if outbreak happens from these institutions, they’ll spread in bulks as nearly 35 crores of students are attached to educational system which would be impractical for govt. to control new cases and give health care to such large population. If delhi health minister who knows all the norms isn’t save from this virus then what’ll happen to the students. India can also take a glance over what was happened in Israel and Korea where school were reopened with various norms and with plethora of safety measures but on the next day, they had to close the schools. So India shouldn’t try this experiment of reopening. Nothing is more valuable than life. Govt. Should focus on how to expand his e-learning platform to wide population of students

  7. Sir, I will not send my son and daughter to school… Everything should come under control… It will take one year… Then I will send my children to school…

  8. People saying open colleges too … Well ya rich people will get into cars n go home .. n we ?
    Had to take buses where there are peoples who dont even understand about this virus is .. u never know wat ur taking home with .. having only one parent n risking their life … Dont let us be orphan.. request to government

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular