Regular classes in schools have started for classes VI and above with the exams also approaching. However, some parents are wary of sending their kids to schools considering a rise in Covid cases.
“The school management told us that most of the students are attending offline classes so it would be better it we send our child too because the school won’t be able to conduct online exam only for our child. This is what they said to each parent and somehow tricked us to send our child to school,” said a parent in Dehradun, Rashmi Juyal.
“My daughter has a weak immune system so she’s more vulnerable to this virus. It is better if she stays home rather than going out and facing the risk of Covid-19,” she added.
Some schools are following the Covid guidelines effectively. Local class X student Anshul Juyal said, “Our school management is ensuring adherence to Covid- 19 protocols like regular sanitisation and face masks but now when the number of offline students is increasing its hard to maintain social distancing. The management is trying to do so by provinding a separate desk to each student.”
However, not all are satisfied with the situation. National Association for Parents and Students Rights president Arif Khan said, “Some schools are not ready to be held responsible if a student catches the virus and SOPs are not being followed by the schools. There is no sanitizer at the gates, no screening and physical distance is also hard to maintain among students. As preparations for the board exams can’t be done that well online, the parents are left with no choice but to send their children to school by filling the consent form.”
A district-level committee should be made for school surveillance comprising a health worker to check SOPs, police personnel, members of parents association, education sector and school management to keep things in check. This will help keep the children safer and satisfy the parents about the safety of their wards, he opined.
Friday, 19 March 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
