India: Reopen schools after vaccinating students and preventing the third wave of COVID-19!

Website design By BotEap.comWith regard to the nearly 17-month-old pandemic horrors in India, we generally discuss the economy and growth rate, the loss of lives, jobs and livelihoods, the hardest-hit sectors, the lack of significant financial relief from the government and other issues. TV channels regularly show how movie stars and other celebrities are doing and how sports activities should be restarted. We only occasionally discuss how students incarcerated at home are coping with the crisis; that we don’t care how they’re doing either, but just do chat shows with the same education experts or teachers on basically the same points repeated over and over again. Then there are the heated discussions about holding various types of reviews at relevant times. However, in recent weeks discussions have been resumed on conducting the final exams of classes 10 and 12 that finally ended with the decision of all states to declare the results without taking exams and based on online tests. and the general evaluation of two years, but almost none. discussions are taking place about how students in vast rural areas get by without access to digital devices and internet connections. And now, there are discussions about reopening schools, particularly elementary schools, as the situation appears to be improving in several states. Senior 12+ classes are only partially held in some states, though that is subject to parental consent letters.

Website design By BotEap.comWe salute the millions of parents for managing their children within the four walls by doing everything possible to keep them mentally stable, providing them with time and facilities, feeding them well and allowing them occasional recreational activities whenever the respective colonies and societies ease walking restrictions. , ride a bike and play on campus or in the parks depending on the infection situation. The loss suffered by students is enormous, considering their isolation, lack of personal interaction with friends and teachers, and an almost bleak future ahead in terms of their future admissions and educational options and pursuits. With all of these factors in mind, schools need to reopen as soon as possible, and some states are actively thinking about this to instill confidence in parents.

Website design By BotEap.comHowever, the majority of parents, a survey says that almost 48% of them, are still opposed to sending their children to schools, not being at all sure about the protective measures that the respective schools are supposed to take. . They are fully justified for the following reasons: the experts themselves say that living with young people between the ages of 10 and 17 is a risky proposal, because they have to leave the house for some activity or job and if they contract the virus and bring it home as soon as it is likely to recover fairly easily, but the elderly will be at serious risk; the much-feared third wave of COVID-19 is coming any day and many experts say it will significantly affect children; vaccination is carried out only for students over 18 years of age, and the vaccination campaign has been stalled due to the evident shortage of doses despite repeated denials from the government, we are forced to witness an unprecedented race and even fisticuffs in limited and partially operative vaccination. centers across the country; and the vaccination of children up to 17 years of age have not yet been announced despite the fact that the government claims that several vaccines are being prepared for them.

Website design By BotEap.comParents’ concerns must be respected at this crucial time. All students, from nursery level, must be fully vaccinated and the third wave must be prevented or addressed well before schools reopen and online classes must continue in the meantime. Some educators have suggested various measures such as dividing a class into groups to take classes at different times since most teachers have to attend schools every day, and claim that if gyms, bars and restaurants, movie theaters, markets, public transportation (only partially in most states) and offices can reopen, why not schools. But who can be trusted to devise a foolproof plan to benefit all students, and who will be held accountable if some get the now-dominant Delta variant and bring it home? Parents are not convinced, neither are we.

Website design By BotEap.comIn the meantime, effective measures other than the immediate reopening of schools can be considered. Educational institutions or agencies, government organizations, news channels, and NGOs should conduct surveys and studies to assess the mental health of students, provide avenues for online entertainment and interaction, organize multipurpose online conferences in the region, and highlight all significant experiments or extracurricular work performed or performed by the students under house arrest in their spare time. This is an extremely troubling issue and all the best brains in the country must commit to finding solutions. This is not only the most serious crisis of the century facing students, but also for the future of the country that seems bleak even otherwise.