GURUGRAM: With Covid recovery rate hovering around 99% and daily cases declining, some private school associations in the state have demanded the government to allow reopening of schools at the earliest.
The associations have argued that education has suffered massive disruption and barring a few leading schools, online education is leading to wide learning gaps among students, urging the government to seriously consider the possibilities of reopening the schools for physical classes.
“The Covid situation appears to be stabilising now and the daily cases have also come down.
We had surveyed to assess the mood of the parents and found that majority want schools to reopen now.
Covid-19 has already disrupted education and online classes are not able to cover a large section of the students.
We have requested the government to consider the possibilities of reopening the schools and issue directions so that schools can start making preparations,” said Baldev Saini, state general secretary of National Independent Schools Alliance.
The associations contended that while the education in leading private schools has largely stabilised, the budget schools that lack robust IT infrastructure and cater to a less privileged section of society are struggling with the quality of education being imparted via online classes.
Moreover, the exclusion from formal and structured education is impacting the mental well-being and social skills of the students.
Associations have proposed to start with a hybrid model that will give flexibility to them for assessment of their situation and call students accordingly.
“In smaller cities, towns, and villages, they are struggling with online education and parents are desperate for schools to open,” said Col (retd) Pratap Singh, district president of Haryana Progressive Schools’ Conference.