‘To Avoid Shutdown, Schools Are Hiding Covid Figures’

Nirmala Joshi, 36, a mother of two in Meerut, says she is skeptical about sending her children to schools as Covid-19 cases see an uptick again

I have two school-going children, one aged 14 and the other nine. It was a big relief for parents when Covid cases subsided and the government allowed the schools to reopen. But as soon as the other restrictions were also lifted, we are seeing a minor surge in infections again even though as of now, the Covid situation appears to be under control.

I myself drop my children to school and observe if the school teachers and other staff are following the Covid protocols, as were assured and instructed by the school authorities. I am relieved that many of these guidelines are being duly followed.

However, social distancing has gone for a toss. And how can it not be when the strength of the school is around 4,000-plus, with 40 students sitting in one classroom. On an average, students spend five to six hours a day in the school. Therefore, as Covid cases being to rise slowly again, I am scared of sending my kids to school.

One major issue is that school administrations are not very transparent about reporting these cases; they prefer to shove them under the carpet. Recently I came to know through a parents’ WhatsApp group that one of the teachers was suspected to have tested positive of Covid. The parents went into a tizzy. But instead of coming clean on the topic, the school administrators told all the teachers to maintain silence on the issue.

Later we got to know that several teachers and students in the school had reported positive. But the school authorities wouldn’t admit it. They had a deadpan response: ‘We can neither confirm nor deny.’ As a parent I believe, we would be safer if we were aware of all the facts.

Joshi (inset) has two school-going children

There were many schools in UP and NCR who showed courage and came forward to provide detailed data on school outbreaks. But most of them chose to keep such information under wraps.

ALSO READ: ‘As Schools Reopen, Teachers Are Happy But Scared’

An email shared on our WhatsApp group showed the principal of a popular school in our region telling the teachers: “Staff who test positive are not to notify any other staff members, parents of their students or any other person/entity that they may have exposed them.” This has left many teachers vulnerable to infections.

We understand the schools are trying to avoid the shutdown and are therefore hiding the truth. But in the name of protecting personal privacy, they are actually sacrificing public health concerns. The system needs to understand that if Covid outbreak happens among children, the hospitals will be flooded with parents as unlike adults they cannot stay in a hospital alone.

All I want from schools is transparency of Covid data. Any attempt to suppress it will put rumour mills in overdrive. You don’t scare people by telling them what’s going on. You scare them by hiding information.

As told to Deepti Sharma

‘School Environment Provides Children A Holistic Learning’

Bengaluru-based Arpana Tripathi, 45, is happy about reopening of schools for her daughter. She narrates her reasons for allowing her daughter to go back to school

On September 2nd, we got a communication from my daughter’s school that they have received guidelines from the government and would be reopening for offline classes as well. We didn’t need to think twice about it. My 16-year-old daughter Aarshia who is in Grade 12th was excited to go back to school.

It has been both frustrating and exhausting more mentally than physically for the schoolchildren to be at home for so long now. And if I talk about senior students like my daughter, it is worse for them as they don’t get any breather from studies with online classes at home. It leads to a saturation point for them. My daughter has missed some precious time the past one and half year. The isolation that they faced due to lockdown and being at home due to the pandemic has been horrible.

Be it a primary student or a secondary student, school plays an important role in a student’s life and there is nothing that can compensate for that school time.

Tripathi says her daughter Aarshia (left) is excited about rejoining school

Yes, these are unprecedented times and no one could help so we had to follow the rules laid down by the government to fight the pandemic. No doubt that online classes came as a blessing in these times but at home the kids will only learn what their parents want them to while in school they get to live and learn life on their own, being exposed to various thought processes of the teachers and fellow students.

Social interactions help them in their learning process and inter-personal skills. I see my daughter any day more energetic and happy to be going to school. There is a routine, she looks forward to another day at school unlike the lockdown days and online classes at home when she would be lethargic and saturated. For their holistic well-being and development, they need to return to school as soon as possible. I fully support the government’s decision to reopen school for senior students. It is such a breather for my daughter.

ALSO READ: ‘Won’t Send My Kid To School Till He Is Vaccinated’

I know the kids are yet to be vaccinated but it has been almost two years that we have been fighting Covid-19 and the senior schoolchildren are well aware of the Covid-appropriate behaviour. In fact of what I see, children seem to be more particular in following Covid-19 protocols than the adults.

Besides, the school has made arrangements for social distancing. The students are required to wear two masks, there will be a separate bench for each student, and they have been asked not to share their food or water with classmates. They also sanitise the classrooms on a regular basis.

And to think of it, even if I chose to not send my daughter to school, would that guarantee me zero-risk for her for Covid -19? So not sending them to school is not the solution. School and parents together have to collaborate and make efforts for a safe return of students to school.

I so hope that the third wave doesn’t hit us. For, that will pave the way for students get back to their normal school life.

As Told To Mamta Sharma

Happy to Be Back in A Normal Classroom

‘It Was A Long Wait; Happy To Be Back In School’

Agamjot Singh, a Class 8 student of Ekam Public School in Mehatpur, Punjab, says he is happy to be back in a normal classroom as it allows him to interact with his friends and teachers in person

I am a student of Ekam Public School studying in Class 8. For nearly a year since the lockdown was announced in March 2020, our schools remained closed. Even though students from Class 9 to 12 were allowed to attend regular classes on school premises for the past one month, the rest of us were attending online classes.

So I am very happy and excited to be re-joining school. In fact I was eagerly waiting for the school to reopen. Not only do we learn better in the school environment, the constant interaction with friends keeps us happy. While attending online classes, the level of interaction wasn’t the same. Our teachers also seem very happy to have us back.

My class has a total strength of 43 students but on the first day of reopening, only 22 students, i.e. about half the students were present. The school had sent out a directive that any student feeling even slightly unwell should not attend school.

ALSO READ: ‘Online Classes Drain The Parents’

However, there were restrictions and safety protocol for the students who were attending school. We weren’t allowed to go to the cafeteria (it was closed) or even use the playground. The school authorities took great care to sanitize the premises regularly. Even though our temperature-screening were not done on entering school, a strict regime was followed to ensure that everyone was wearing masks and sanitizing their hands regularly. The washrooms were also very clean.

Singh is well aware of Covid-19 safety protocols

I take a school bus to reach school and it was also in a spick and span condition. And everyone took care and personal responsibility to keep it clean.

I wasn’t scared at all to be attending school and neither were my parents. And now that the vaccination process is about to start, whatever little fear we might have had has also vanished. In fact, my father himself had contracted coronavirus a few months ago and now we are very aware of the symptoms, the correct steps and precautions to take.

Even though we children love screen time and are quite technically aware and adept at handling gadgets and newer apps, yet I believe nothing can replace the charm and ease of normal classroom learning. We are young so it doesn’t affect our eyes if they are glued to the screen or have earphones plugged in for long hours, but with increased study load as we advance to senior classes, book learning is better for our health.

Online Education

Watch – ‘No Smartphone, No Classes, Kids Play All Day’

LokMarg brings you a ground report from rural India, where in the absence of smartphones and computers, school children are unable to study amid Covid-19.

Our reporter Praveen Sharma visits rural households in Uttar Pradesh to find that a majority of students are unable to take advantage of online classes. Parents say they can ill-afford expensive phones or data. Result is most school children now idle away their time playing or running errands.

School teachers list out state government measures for distance learning as schools are yet to reopen. But poor households are unable to take their benefit. They are only waiting for the schools to reopen. Watch: