Mumbai school reopening: More parents willing to send children to in-person classes

Photo for representational purpose

With certain restrictions in the city having been relaxed, there is a growing demand to reopen educational institutions, too. So far, only academicians were in favour of resuming in-person classes, but now students and parents also seem to agree. A latest national survey has shown that 53 per cent parents are now willing to send their children back to school, while an online petition has requested the state government to reopen colleges.

"The Covid-19 cases are declining and we have the vaccines; it could be a great time to reopen colleges with precautions. Moreover, the undergraduates are eligible for vaccination, so if we could make sure that all students and staff are given both the doses, reopening colleges won't be difficult," states the petition that Sagar Telarakar started on change.org on Sunday. It has so far got about 100 signatures of support.

Students undergo thermal screening as schools reopen in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday. Pic/PTI

The petition refers to tremendous academic loss due to limitations of online platforms of education. "It's been a considerably long time using online education, but there is still a difficulty in adaptation, teachers and students are not actually used to this type of education and it just makes things worse," states the petition, after pointing out that technical glitches, internet and device issues are hampering online education for many.

Also read: Maharashtra govt directs schools to waive off fees by 15 per cent

The national survey

Meanwhile, a survey by LocalCircles has shown that parents' perspective towards in-person classes have massively changed. Merely 30 per cent of the parents surveyed in June were in favour of reopening schools, but the figure has risen to 53 per cent. The survey received over 47,000 responses from 24,000 parents from 378 districts of India.

Nearly 74 per cent of the parents willing to send their kids back to school want the government to ensure that every institution has sufficient Rapid Antigen Test kits, while 89 per cent of them want state governments to ensure district administrations organise free vaccination camps at/near schools so all employees are vaccinated on priority.

"The UNICEF published a statement last month, stating that schools cannot wait for Covid-19 cases to get to zero, maintaining that there is clear evidence that primary and secondary schools are not among the main drivers of transmission. Following this and given a lot of discussions amongst parents and the recent notifications by state governments, LocalCircles conducted another survey to understand where parents now stand on sending their children back to school," said LocalCircles founder Sachin Taparia.

In June, following the deadly second wave, 76 per cent of the surveyed parents were not in favour of resuming in-person classes, he said. However, now, only 44 per cent of parents are hesitant to send their children to school, he added.

53%
Proportion of parents (surveyed recently) in favour of schools being reopened