24 June,2021 12:31 PM IST | Mumbai | Pallavi Smart
Representation pic
Even as the state government contemplates reopening schools in villages with zero cases, a survey throws light on what exactly Maharashtra parents want. While only 21 per cent are of the same opinion as the government, 31 per cent have said that they will not send their children to school until they are vaccinated.
The findings from Maharashtra are important considering that the state govt is mulling resuming schools in villages with zero cases. Representation pic
The survey was conducted by LocalCircles - a community social media platform. While a national survey saw 19,000 responses from over 250 districts, of these, the over 2,000 responses from Maharashtra are significant considering that the government is mulling reopening schools for Std X and XII in villages. Respondents were asked: When would you be willing to send your children to physical school?
While 31 per cent of respondents do not want to send their children to school until they are vaccinated, 30 per cent are willing to send them to school and 21 per cent said that they will not send their kids to school until cases in their district go down to zero.
On Tuesday evening, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met the school education department and School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad to discuss the matter. According to Gaikwad's official Twitter account, the CM has instructed the department to explore the possibility of reopening schools, with adequate precautions, for the two standards in districts with zero cases.
"Past year has taught us importance of blended approach in education. And so, while we promote remote learning, the CMO has allowed us to study possibilities of safe resumption of schools in Corona-free villages. We will initially explore the possibility of reopening Std.10th,12th classrooms in villages where there have been no new cases in the last few months, provided they commit to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and adopt measures for keeping the virus at bay in future as well," tweeted Gaikwad.
Sachin Taparia, founder, LocalCircles
LocalCircles's national survey's findings, too, reflect similar opinions. Nationally, 37 per cent of parents refused to send kids to school without vaccination, 24 per cent said they will send if cases in their district go down to zero. For 15 per cent of respondents, it was important for nearby districts to also have zero cases.
Sachin Taparia, founder, LocalCircles, said, "In a related survey by us in January, 69 per cent of parents wanted schools to reopen from April or after. This number has dropped to 20 per cent in relation to opening schools in July. There is growing evidence that parents are even more apprehensive about sending their children to physical school. The same survey suggested that vaccination hesitancy among parents has reduced. Only 26 per cent of Indian parents approved of the vaccine for their children in January. That number has increased to 65 per cent in June."
