“Coronavirus will be with us for a long time. We have to live with it by taking precautions. We can’t go forward if we consider it as a hurdle”… this was the statement of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy three months ago. This remark caused both ridicule as well as resignation among different sections of population. As Covid-19 was not as prevalent back then when he made these statements, most of the people agreed with him. But the situation has gotten worse now. Lakhs have been infected and thousands have died, not only in the state but across the country. People are in the grip of fear. In this backdrop, the state government is time and again stating that it will open schools from September 5.
Notwithstanding strong opposition from parents, the government is going ahead with its plans to reopen schools, but parents are insisting that they will not send their wards to school till the vaccine comes.
Sanitisation in schools
The government says that it is the responsibility of parents’ committees and teachers to ensure sanitation in the schools. They have to ensure disinfection of school premises, arrangement of sanitisers and masks for children to prevent spread of Covid-19.
Parents are ruing that when they are already afraid of putting their kids at risk by sending them to schools, it will be an additional burden financially if they are forced to spend for preventive measures. On the other hand, teachers also fear that they may be blamed if any student is infected with the virus in school.
Rural risk
While sanitation and hygiene are taken care of in urban areas to a certain extent, the situation is different in villages. Teachers argue that besides unsanitary conditions in schools, many students are also not bothered about aspects of personal cleanliness. Moreover, facilities to deal with pandemic like testing are scarce in rural areas. They wonder how they can confirm infections under these circumstances.
Classes for IX and X are enough
Residential schools suggested to the government that classes could be confined to Classes IX and X for this year and students of other classes could be promoted to higher class. But there has been no response from the government so far. Teachers’ unions are questioning the need for holding classes at the time of pandemic risking the lives of children. Coronavirus is already spreading fast in villages. Teachers and parents are agitated over the prospect of reopening of schools in this dangerous environment.
