Is it okay to send kids to school before COVID-19 vaccine comes in the market

ਮਾਫ਼ ਕਰਨਾ, ਇਹ ਖਬਰ ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਉਪਲਬਧ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ। ਕਿਰਪਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਇੱਥੇ ਦੇਖੋ।

A survey by a leading education group in Kolkata revealed that majority of the parents do not want their children to attend regular classes till COVID-19 vaccine hits the market.

Mukta Nain, director of the Birla High School, said, “Based on a survey we conducted, eighty per cent guardians said they were not ready to send their children to school. This rose to ninety per cent for parents with primary school children.”

Before opening the school, screening, or rapid test of all the students, staff and teachers should be done. Schools should ensure screening or antigen test on a fortnightly or monthly basis. To maintain social distancing, schools should function in two shifts. Essential items such as mask, sanitiser and sanitiser-tunnel, should be made available on the campus. The temperature of students and teachers should be checked regularly. Students and teachers should carry their own food, water bottles and stationary. The school opening process should be slow and gradual. Senior students should be allowed first whereas junior students should continue with the online mode.

The decision to open the schools is certainly in the larger interest of the students of classes VI and above. Any further delay would hamper their studies, more so in the case of subjects where practical classes are necessary. We must, therefore, welcome this timely decision. The schools must ensure that all COVID-19 related precautionary measures are taken. One such important measure is to arrange where only half of the strength of students is present on any given day. Whatever may be the case, parental consent should be mandatory. However, under no circumstances students of the primary wing should be called for physical classes.