Are schools prepared to welcome students

Are schools prepared to welcome students

c-Puniti.Pandey@timesgroup.com

27.07.2020

As the MHRD awaits feedback from parents on when to reopen schools owing to the crisis, schools are setting up adequate facilities and preventive measures to restart campus learning.

Suggesting a School Readiness Plan for all schools, Vandana Lulla, principal, Poddar International School, Mumbai, feels that the education department’s decision to reopen schools should be based on the preparation made by schools to safeguard the students and teachers. “Schools should submit their complete Readiness Plan related to temperature checks, santisation, seating arrangements, record keeping to the education department. The education department’s approval for reopening a school should thereafter depend on the measures adopted by the schools,” she says. The new education model in our school will be based on blended learning. “We will hold offline classes in a staggered manner at the campus,” she says.

Parents are uncertain

While schools are preparing to restart, parents are still unsure of sending their wards to schools. Rachna Singh, mother of class III student in Delhi, feels that the primary school students should not be exposed to risk and offline classes should not start for them. She, however, realises the pros and cons of the online teaching that the students are forced into today-.“We have always tried to keep our children away from mobiles and gadgets. But the current situation has forced us to keep them in front of the screens for long hours. The students are also losing out their writing abilities and communication skills due to virtual learning,” she says. Seema Pandey, mother of class XII student, feels the dire need for reopening schools to avoid the “casual approach among students”.