It’s official: Mumbai schools go online again

Students of all classes, except Stds X and XII, will study from home

The third Covid-19 wave has forced the schools, which had reopened their campus for students barely a month ago, to revert to the online mode of learning. The BMC on Monday issued a circular, asking all schools in the city to stop offline classes. Several private institutions had already decided to hold online lessons only in view of the rising Covid-19 cases. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken the decision amid a rapid growth in Covid-19 cases due to the highly infectious Omicron variant.

"Considering the increasing spread of infection of Omicron, all schools in the BMC's jurisdiction, irrespective of the boards they are affiliated to, should be closed for offline functioning until January 31, 2022. Students of Stds I to IX and Std XI will continue learning online as per the previous arrangements. Only children in the 15-18 years age group can be called to campus if the schools are taking them for vaccination."

Students attend a morning class at D S High School in Sion, on December 15, when schools had reopened for Stds I to VII after a 20-month shutdown. Pic/Atul Kamble

The civic body's order has come as a relief to many parents, but there were some who said that they should be the one taking the decision of sending their children to school. Sai Gawande, a parent from Dahisar, said, "This is a great relief. My daughter's school had shifted back to online mode as it reopened on Monday after the Christmas vacation. But the BMC's directive definitely helps. Many children from our housing society went to school today because offline learning was still allowed."

Another parent, Jayesh Parekh from Kandivli, said, "My daughter's school was offering the hybrid mode of learning. I have opted for online. But my daughter was upset on knowing that her friends were going to school." However, Aparna Shah, a parent, was not happy. "Whether or not to send the child to school has to be the parents' decision only. We are responsible for our children's health, education and future. BMC should allow schools to operate, and whoever is comfortable sending their child can do so, while the rest of the students can continue online," she said.

The Mumbai Parents Association, which had demanded reopening of schools for all, stated that this order once again causes a setback to children's academic as well as overall growth. Komal Mehta-Parekh, a parent, said, "Top paediatricians across the world have said that children are more immune to the Coronavirus. We have personally noticed this in the past two years."