Bhubaneswar: The state government’s decision to reopen schools that have been shut for last several months due to Covid-19 pandemic has invited reactions from several quarters. Some experts opine that the onus of safety and security of children as well as teachers should be on the government.
The prolonged school closure and detention at home have affected children’s study and their mental and physical wellbeing.
Data claimed that over 1.5 million schools in the country have been shut due to the pandemic. Shutting down of schools has affected around 24 crore students across India.
The Union government has delegated the responsibilities to the state governments to decide on reopening of schools by assessing the Covid-19 situation. However, many parents are apprehensive about sending their children to schools due to the fear of contracting the deadly virus.
Odisha Right to Education (RTE) forum convener Anil Pradhan argued that schools cannot be closed forever in the name of Covid-19 pandemic.
“The state government must ensure all facilities such as handwashing, drinking water and sanitisation at schools. Moreover, infrastructure upgradation should be undertaken at schools. This will encourage parents to send their children to schools,” he said.
The government should assess the additional infrastructural requirements at schools in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Anil. “However, the decision on school reopening should not be decided at the top level. There should be committees at panchayat and block levels to take decision on the issue by assessing the local situation,” Pradhan added.
“Safety and security of children as well as teachers are very much important in this scenario. The government should take necessary steps to ensure all precautionary measures against the deadly virus at schools. Steps should be taken for availability of sanitiser and hand washing facility at schools. Use of facemasks should be mandatory at schools,” said educationist Anjan Pradhan.
Besides, the government can reopen schools gradually in areas having zero or very less number of Covid-19 infection, he added.
Pradhan opined that education sector has been a non-priority sector with regard to planning and implementation aspects. Lacunae in our education system have led to lopsided growth in this sector.
“Many of our schoolchildren are from disadvantaged communities, lacking the internal capacity to improve. Most of the time, we fail to offer them quality learning experience which affects the education system as a whole. Our education system must embrace quality combined with equity to become a high-performing sector,” he said.