School Reopening: Union government likely to release guidelines to resume offline classes

Schools in various states have been closed across the country for physical classes amid the emergence of the new Omicron variant of the virus and the increasing number of novel coronavirus cases.

School Reopening: The union government is now mulling to come up with a model in order to reopen schools across the country in staggered to conduct physical classes following all COVID-19 related protocols, sources said on Thursday. Schools in various states have been closed across the country for physical classes amid the emergence of the new Omicron variant of the virus and the increasing number of novel coronavirus cases. For almost two years, students have been mostly attending online classes, barring some brief periods in between, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to PTI, "As parents have been demanding for the opening of schools, the union government is working on a model for staggered opening of schools following all COVID-related protocols," a highly-placed source said.

Recently, Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had a meeting with a delegation of parents led by Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and public policy specialist, and Centre for Policy Research president Yamini Aiyar. During the meeting, the group submitted a memorandum signed by over 1,600 parents demanding that the schools be reopened.

Similarly, various other state governments have also received demands and requests from parents and students on the reopening of schools. However, some of the parents have favoured the continuation of online classes. The Delhi government had recommended the reopening of schools in the national capital, but a decision on this has been postponed until the next meeting by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.

It has become necessary to prevent further damage to the social and emotional well-being of children, Sisodia had said on Wednesday.

Asserting that online education can never replace offline education, Sisodia had said the government had closed schools when it was not safe for children, but excessive caution is now harming students.

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