Attention given to the child and their education: In the letter, the parents have stated that schools were already closed for a longer period due to CORONA-19 and construction and other activities have been allowed keeping in view the weather-related changes. There has been a slight improvement in the U.S., with equal attention given to the child and their education, a greater priority in fact.
A group of 140 parents in the national capital has written to Lieutenant Governor Baijal seeking his intervention to reopen schools that were closed due to deteriorating air quality.
India has the distinction of implementing one of the longest school closures in the world. After 20 months of closure, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority authorized the reopening of schools for all classes in Delhi at 50 per cent capacity with effect from November 1. This coincided with the annual pollution cycle.
Risk Poses to the Health of our Children:
Unfortunately, our children’s education was the first victim of the pollution reaction and on November 13 the school closure was announced for a week. It has now been extended till further orders. Given the magnitude of the pollution crisis and the risk it poses to the health of our children, we urge the Delhi Govt. to reconsider this decision and reopen schools – the letter said.
The parents’ group noted that since schools have been authorized to operate in hybrid mode at 50 per cent capacity, the range of possible transport on roads has been reduced, thus reducing any risk of closure of schools. Public health benefits have been undermined. Furthermore, the hybrid nature of schooling provides alternative methods of safety for parents to make choices about sending their children to schools. Most school-going children have access to air pollution prevention methods such as air purifiers. have no access to it, – it said.
Masks are Mandatory in Schools:
As a result, school closures do not provide any significant health benefits to the majority of school-going children in Delhi, most of whom have suffered greatly from the longest pandemic-induced school closures in the world, it said. Masks are mandatory in schools to prevent the spread of CORONA-19 and wearing a mask will reduce the risk of air pollution, stressed the parents.
Primary schools are now closed for almost 21 months. There is a large body of evidence shedding light on the importance of the early years in the formation of human capital. The prolonged closure of primary schools is affecting the education of our young children very badly. Therefore, it is imperative that we should give priority to opening primary schools. Keeping these realities in mind, we urge that schools be allowed to open. The hybrid model with 4 per cent capacity will ensure parental choice and address the public health concern of vehicular pollution.
The Directorate of Education (DoE) on Sunday announced that schools in Delhi will remain closed for physical classes till further orders, while online classes and board exams will continue. The Delhi Govt. had on November 13 announced the closure of schools and other educational institutions in view of the deteriorating air quality in Delhi. Schools had reopened for all classes from November 1 after being closed for almost 19 months due to CORONA-19.
