Telangana government decision to reopen schools has its merits and demerits

The decision of the TS government to reopen all educational institutions both government and private from September 1st is although a move in the right direction, yet such initiative needs to be examined from positive and negative aspects arising out due to its implementation. At the outset, reopening of all educational institutions is a welcome move in the light of the fact that there has been a long wait for such an eventuality to happen since all educational institutions were literally closed from March, 2020 onwards due to starting of Covid-19 outbreak in the country followed by persistent threat of the pandemic which continued till the inconclusive second wave resulting in a large number of positive cases as well as deaths during the past 18 months.

After the extant Covid-19 second wave which played havoc with the life of several people , the situation has improved significantly during July and August , there has been a consistent decline in the number of positive cases thereby providing a sigh of relief for the people and the Govt. Thus there are signs of improvement in the overall situation which have prompted the govt to decide upon reviving class-room education . Especially in the case of Telangana State , the process of reviving education follows in the wake of the State going for massive vaccination and strict adherence of the people to the Standard Operating Protocols (SOPs) .

The government's decision on re-opening comes in the wake of many parents showing unwillingness to send their wards to schools fearing likely expectation of threat especially affecting the children to a great extent in October month under the influence of the third wave of the pandemic.

It is the responsibility of the people themselves to ensure that reopening of educational institutions will not be followed by reclosure due to unpredictable eventuality of a spike in the number of cases. Hence, it is the bounden obligation of one and all to strictly implement SoPs in order to keep the pandemic under control and there would be less vulnerability of students who are driven to schools and colleges after a long period of 18 months. Hence, patience and resilience of the students and their parents cannot be put to an acid test when once academics get revisited by students with a positive motto to continue their pursuit of education.

Bh Indu Sekhar, Hyderabad

Safety in schools is everyone's responsibility

V Ramu Sarma's write-up elucidating in detail the pros and cons of opening up of schools was informative and helpful in guiding the parents to take a conscious decision in this crucial hour.

In fact after the outbreak of covid-19 and closure of schools, virtual learning has become the new normal along with a spike in e-learning platforms. The adoption of online models having distinct advantages became instantly popular, yet the traditional classroom learning was deeply missed by many students because one teaching pattern can never suit all.

With all impediments in the way to open schools and evolving of technology to ensure there is a continuity in learning during 2020 and first half of 2021, yet it has been a difficult period for school education on the whole with 40-50 per cent of students not having learned anything during this period. After the receding of deadly second wave, state government planned to open schools in July but were forced to rescind the decision as large number of parents expressed unwillingness to send their wards to schools due to fear of virus.

Now based on reports that continuous closure of schools was causing mental stress among school students and uncertainty looming large over the future of the educational system itself leading to confusion among students, parents and teachers of private schools, the decision of the state government at last to reopen schools including Anganwadi centres after taking all preventive measures like cleaning and sanitisation and also taking into account the experts view that the third wave slated in October will not be severe and cause no harm to children thus removing fear and apprehensions is a step in the right direction.

All in all, welcoming the opening of schools on September first, one expects all stakeholders would extend cooperation and coordination at every stage by strictly adopting do's and don'ts so that all are safe.

K R Srinivasan,Secunderabad