After bearing the brunt of three COVID waves, India is finally opening up. The recent decision by nearly all state/UT governments to resume schools in the middle of an ongoing third wave, which probably did not witness high death rates as compared to the second wave, follows nearly two years of school closure. We all agree as parents that schools cannot be closed for long periods during pandemic as the learning loss is huge. Moreover, many experts and studies opine that physical closure of schools affect child’s physical, emotional and mental health.
However, the recent decision to resume schools from February is not accompanied by enough confidence-building measures for parents and students. The academic session, in any case, is coming to an end in a month’s time and while cases are ebbing, they are still being reported so the threat of spreading and catching infection looms large. Therefore, as a parent, I am not inspired enough to take that risk, especially when the family has children and aged people sharing a home. Omicron wave may have been less ominous as per government statistics and records but still families lost their loved ones. We, as a nation, lost a legend, Lata Mangeshkar, on February 6 due to COVID-19.
While the government has issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines for opening schools to ensure low risk, adherence to these SOPs always remains an Achilles’ Heel. We have seen a considerable violation of SOPs/guidelines related to management of COVID-19 by adults, resulting in second and third waves of COVID. This is also demonstrated in the collection of fines for not following COVID-appropriate behaviour. In addition, classrooms and laboratories in schools cannot be structurally changed overnight to strictly adhere to social distancing norms when school is opened with 100 per cent attendance.
In Delhi, nearly 82 per cent of all children in the age group of 15-18 have got the first vaccine dose. The vaccination drive for the age group began only a month ago, and many children will only be vaccinated fully by mid-March. Therefore, vulnerability of children in the 15-18 age group still remains high as it does for children below 15 years of age who are not eligible for vaccination yet but will return to schools from next week in Delhi. It is also not clear whether school staff and other family members are fully vaccinated. We all know that the vaccine coverage is not 100 per cent for the adult population yet. My submission is that the vaccination status of teaching/non-teaching staff/parents, students and other family members should be properly communicated by schools to give parents and children a semblance of confidence.
Many organisations, including UN organisations in India, seek information regarding employees’ vaccination status. But the government informing the Supreme Court that vaccination is voluntary not mandatory does not infuse confidence in me regarding my child’s safety in school amid those who may not have been inoculated. An oft-repeated argument for school reopening is that parents who go out to work (where they come in contact with a lot of people) can bring the virus home. While this is true, but parents usually take utmost precaution to avoid coming in contact with their children immediately after returning from work, by following COVID-appropriate behaviour including good sanitation practices (such as taking a bath, sanitising objects that come from outside) and allowing a select few to enter their home, preferably those vaccinated.
Second, the consent forms being issued by schools for attending offline classes clearly show the intent of schools to shrug off their responsibility by stating that if the child gets sick or infected, the school(s) cannot be held responsible. This is enough to break my confidence as a parent. SOPs and guidelines alone cannot ensure safety as we know there are challenges and gaps in implementation of these SOPs. There could be a possibility of children who are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms coming to school and infecting several others, especially when exams are around the corner. Hence, the timing of opening of schools with all kids in one classroom is fraught with grave repercussions.
When schools had opened up last year after the ebbing of the second wave, many had not restored school transportation facility for students. As a result, the responsibility of drop and pick up was left to parents. Now when schools are reopening in the last month of the academic session, it remains to be seen whether such facility can be resumed by school transporters.
While we are all encouraged by the decision to reopen schools, my submission is that the new academic session by end March-early April can begin in a proper offline mode while the remaining one month of this academic session can continue with a hybrid model to slowly and steadily build the confidence of parents and children. Those children who want to go to school to clear doubts before exams should definitely avail the option to attend physical classes to address gaps in learning before the final examination.
Coercion and intimidation coupled with haste will not lead to achieving successful learning outcomes for our children. Right to Education can only be achieved if Right to Life is ensured.
The author is an Associate Fellow at Scaling City Institutions for India, Centre for Policy Research. She is also mother to a child who goes to a school in Delhi. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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