India: Reopen The Schools After Vaccinating The Students And Preventing The Third Wave!
Then, there are the raging debates on holding various types of
exams at the relevant points of time. However, in the recent weeks the debates
have picked up about holding the 10th and 12th class final
exams which finally ended with all the states deciding to declare results
without holding exams and based on the online tests and overall two-year
assessment, but hardly any discussions are taking place about how the students
of the vast rural areas are coping up without having access to digital devices
and internet connections. And now, debates are on about reopening the schools,
particularly the primary schools, as the situation seems to be easing up in
several states. 12+ higher classes are being held only partially in some states
though that is subject to parental consent letters.
We salute the
millions of parents for handling their children inside the four walls doing
everything possible to keep them mentally stable, providing them time and
facilities, feeding them well and allowing them for the occasional recreation
activities whenever respective colonies and societies ease up the restrictions
of walking, cycling and playing in the campus or in the parks as per the
situation of the infections. The loss suffered by the students is huge,
considering their isolation, lack of personal interaction with friends and
teachers and an almost bleak future looming ahead as regards their future
admissions and educational choices and pursuits. Taking into account all such
factors the schools must be reopened as soon as possible, and some states are
actively thinking about this taking the parents into confidence.
However, most of
the parents, a survey says nearly 48% of them, still object to sending their
children to schools, not at all being assured about the protective measures supposed
to be taken by the respective schools. They are fully justified for the
following reasons: experts themselves say that living with 10 to17 year-olds is
a risky proposition, because they have to go out of homes on some activity or
work and if they contract the virus and bring it home they will most probably recover
quite easily, but the elders will be put at grave risk; the much-feared
COVID-19 third wave is to strike any time and many experts are saying it will
affect the children significantly; vaccination is being done for students only
above 18 years of age, and the vaccination drive has been stagnating due to
obvious shortage of doses despite repeated denials by the government, we are
forced to witness unprecedented rush and even fisticuffs at the limited and
partially operating vaccination centers all over the country; and vaccination
of the children up to the age of 17 are yet to be announced despite the
government’s claim that several vaccines are getting ready for them.
At this crucial
juncture the worries of the parents must be respected. All students, right from
the nursery level, must be fully vaccinated and the third wave must be
prevented or well tackled before the schools reopen, and in the meantime online
classes have to continue. Some educationists have suggested various measures
like dividing a class into groups for taking classes at different points of
time since most of the teachers have to attend the schools daily, and they
claim that if gyms, bars & restaurants, cinema halls, markets, public
transport (only partially in most states) and offices can be reopened why not
schools. But, who can be trusted to devise a fool-proof plan to benefit all
students, and who will be responsible if some them get the now-dominant Delta
variant and bring it home? Parents are not convinced, neither us.
Effective measures
other than reopening schools immediately can be considered in the meantime. Educational
institutions or agencies, government organizations, news channels and NGOs
should undertake surveys and studies to assess the mental health of the
students, provide them with online avenues of entertainment and interaction,
organizing online multi-purpose conferences region wise and highlight all
meaningful experiments or extra-curricular work being done or achieved by the home-imprisoned
students in their spare time. This is an extremely concerning issue and all the
best brains of the country must engage themselves for solutions. This is not
only the gravest crisis of the century facing the students, but also for the
future of the country which looks bleak even otherwise.
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