Should schools be re-opened ?

Vijay Garg
Contd from previous issue
Attempts have certainly been made to address this shortfall but it has been insufficient.
Research has also shown that children are going through psychological stress and impact, although adults are not immune and no country in the world is immune to it. Is this the right time to open schools ?  It may be a topic of discussion but how long schools will be closed is a matter of concern. Given Corona's predicament, the decision to reopen the school is not a trivial matter.
The views of the parents are also being taken into consideration but the schools have to make sure that the classes are safe for the children.  However, there is a positive rationale behind this. It has been observed that during the epidemic, many countries of the world kept schools open for primary school children and the risk of epidemic did not increase.
It is worth mentioning that school education is a matter for the States in the Constitution.  It has become difficult to pay and many schools are on the verge of closure. Schools in different States of India have different conditions of closure. Schools in Jharkhand, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are still closed.  Fear of a third wave in which 40 per cent of the population is considered can be under threat is real, but the courage to reopen schools is not unreasonable.
The writer is a Retired Principal, Malout