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The Uttar Pradesh government last week directed for the opening of schools for classes 6 to 8 from February 10, and classes 1 to 5 from March 1.The Standard Operating Procedure’s (SOPs ) have mentioned that parents’ consent is must for sending a child to school and that it will not be the responsibility of the school if the student contracts Covid-19.The list of SOPs issued by UP’s basic education directorate and will pave way for the opening of schools for classes 1 to 8 in a phased manner. District officials said the conditions of the SOP will be applicable to all schools, whether government or private.
Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate of Ghaziabad said, “All sets of schools are covered under the SOPs, irrespective of education board. These will be applicable for private as well as government schools and they will have to make arrangements for sanitisation, social distancing and other guidelines already defined under the appropriate Covid behaviour.”
A week later since the reopening of the schools, only 10 per cent attendance has been recorded in this period. It has come to notice that many parents are still unwilling to send their children to school. The decision to let students attend classes is entirely upto the parents, according to guidelines by the state government. The consent form, which is to be signed by parents, however, has several conditions. It says that although schools are to ensure all safety procedures, the institutions cannot guarantee that no child can contract Covid-19 in the future. “Parents have to ensure that the child has no symptoms such as cough/cold, fever or respiratory issues and will not send the child if he/she portrays any such symptoms. The schools will not be held responsible in case the students or their family members or friends get Covid-19. In case parents hide details of any positive case, they shall be solely responsible,” the SOP stated.
Despite all the required steps taken by the schools to ensure the safety and security of the students, parents still are apprehensive sending their wards to the school. Shivani Jain, President of All School Parents Association said, “We are not admitting any student into the classroom without the consent of the parents. At the same time, we are seeking the consent of all parents if any student falls ill during this time, or if he has any kind of infection then the school will not be responsible for it.We have surveyed all the schools that have opened in the last few days. During this time, we found that only 5-10 per cent students were attending these classes. The school’s teachers, guards and other staff have not yet been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine, which has added to the parents reluctance to send their children to school.
