On Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that Delhi schools would reopen for class 9th to class 12th from September 1, 2021. He further said that no student would be forced to attend the school thanks to the hybrid system.
Director of Pediatrics and Neonatology at Fortis Hospital, Dr Rahul Nagpal said that the schools should open properly and Covid-19 related protocols must be followed.
Dr Nagpal told media agency PTI, “What I am seeing is that children are completely lost and we have to look at their mental faculties. Children have to be educated about the new normal by parents. As for schools, they have to ensure proper ventilation in classrooms which is a problem and they might go for hybrid education, some of it might be offline and online.”
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Here are important points, under which schools would function in the national capital:
1. The Education Minister said that according to the survey conducted by the Delhi government around 70 percent of the people want that the schools must be reopened.
2. The schools would be operated in blended mode i.e. teachers would conduct classes in both modes – online as well as in-person.
3. He further informed that around 98 percent of the Delhi school teachers have got at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
4. The decision for reopening of schools for classes below 9 would depend on the feedback received after the reopening of class 9th to class 12th.
5. According to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), a committee of experts has been set up by the panel. As per the expert committee, no student would be forced to attend the school, the decision of attending in-person school fully depends on the parents.
6. On Wednesday, the expert committee had recommended that students from senior classes should be called in the first phase followed by the middle-grade students and ultimately the primary classes.
7. The latest proposal to reopen schools had parents and the education community divided as some expressed concerns about a possible third wave while others were worried about the loss of learning and setback to the children's growth.
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Currently, students of class 10th, 11th, and 12th are allowed to visit school, but only with the consent of the parents.
Schools in Delhi were closed in March last year, due to Covid-19 lockdown and were partially opened by the government for class 9th to class 12th in January 2021. However, schools were again shut due to an aggressive second wave of Coronavirus.