Sisodia agrees to parents demands on Delhi school reopening

With the number of cases going down, more than 1,600 Delhi parents signed a petition and sent it to authorities requesting the opening of schools and anganwadi centres for physical classes on priority once Delhi begins lifting its current set of COVID-19 restrictions.

Delhi School Reopening: The Deputy Chief Minister of the National Capital, Manish Sisodia has agreed to the demands made by parents regarding the reopening of schools in Delhi. The schools have been closed again in the state from December 29 due to the increase in the novel coronavirus cases. However, with the number of cases going down, more than 1,600 Delhi parents signed a petition and sent it to authorities requesting the opening of schools and anganwadi centres for physical classes on priority once Delhi begins lifting its current set of COVID-19 restrictions.

Around 1,607 people, including doctors, drivers, lawyers, shopkeepers and housewives, have signed the petition. According to a tweet posted by the minister, “A delegation of parents of Delhi's children led by @DrLahariya, @AiyarYamini submitted a memorandum to be signed by more than 1600 parents for reopening of schools.”

The petition states, ‘’Any decision requires an assessment of risks and benefits. Covid-19 is not the only risk to our children; the definition of “health” must be expanded to mean more than the mere absence of COVID-19. The harms of prolonged school closures significantly outweigh the benefits. Experts, including AIIMS, ICMR, Indian Academy of Pediatrics, Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine, NITI Aayog, UNICEF, World Bank and WHO have spoken in favour of opening schools. Experts have also concluded that younger children are at very low risk of severe or fatal Covid-19 and vaccination is not a prerequisite for opening schools. Sero-surveys indicate that 80-90% of children have already been exposed to COVID-19. The ‘abundance of caution’ approach focused on Covid-19 has led to an ‘abundance of harm’ for our children.’’

The petition also points to physical and mental health issues and the risk of social isolation and developmental issues in younger children.

To this, the Deputy CM said, “I agree with their demands. We closed school when it was not safe for children but excessive caution is now harming our children. A generation of children will be left behind if we do not open our schools now.”

The petition has been sent to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Union Department of School Education & Literacy secretary Anita Karwal, Delhi chief secretary Vijay Dev, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairman Priyank Kanoongo, Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) chairman Anurag Kundu and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) chairman Manoj Ahuja.

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