Friday, 30 July 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
Despite the approval of the Uttarakhand government to reopen schools from August 2 for students of classes VI to XII many parents are still reluctant to send their wards for physical classes due to the Covid pandemic.
They said they will not send their children to schools till they get vaccinated against Covid-19.
“New variants of Covid-19 were recently discovered and it is also being discussed for months that the probable third wave of Covid could affect children more. How can we send our children in such conditions? I lost my husband to Covid this year despite taking all the precautionary measures. So I will not send my children to school at least till they get vaccinated and they will continue studying through online classes,” said homemaker from Raipur area, Asha Thapa.
The president of the National Association for Parents and Student Rights (NAPSR) Arif Khan also said that parents across the State have approached him and expressed their disappointment with the State administration. “The State government is not allowing Kanwad Yatra and social gatherings in large numbers in view of Covid then why hundreds of children are being called to school for classes? It appears that the government has taken this decision under the pressure of owners of big schools because parents are not ready to risk the lives of their kids,” asserted Khan. He said that parents are being asked to sign consent letters as per which the school administration cannot be held liable for the condition of a student if he or she gets Covid-19 disease. He asked if schools are not ready to take the children’s responsibility, who will be responsible for them in schools?
He further informed that the association has written a letter to the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to revoke the permission of allowing schools to run physical classes from August.
However, a handful of parents of students aged 15 to 18 years are ready to send their children to schools from next week as according to them, they can take care of themselves. “My son is 17 years old and a science student. He wants to go to school for classes. I have permitted him to do so but on the condition that he takes all measures to stay safe from Covid. I have asked him to stop going to school if management does not follow Covid guidelines properly,” said a bank employee, Girish Kumar. He added, “We do not know for how long this pandemic will last but we will have to make some adjustments for our children’s future.”
Meanwhile, Principals Progressive Schools’ Association (PPSA) stated that they have been receiving a good response from parents regarding the reopening of schools from Monday. “Parents were asking us regularly about reopening of schools as children’s education is suffering through online classes. Children cannot get proper education through online mode considering which the State Government has allowed physical classes in schools,” stated the head of PPSA Prem Kashyap. He also disclosed that the schools have made all preparations to take all the precautionary measures against Covid-19 during physical classes.
