“Don’t make children and teachers Guinea Pigs for the Country”, Sawhney.
“Decision to Re-Open Schools by the Centre is a Dangerous Experiment”: Sawhney.
Former Minister J&K Yogesh Sawhney, in a statement, strongly condemned the Centre’s decision to re-open schools amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “It doesn’t seem very wise or rational to open schools when the coronavirus cases in the country are still on the rise and the pandemic situation has not been brought under control. Despite the SOP issued by the government, this move puts several sections at risk including not just students, but also staff and their families.”, said Sawhney.
After almost 6 months of shutdown, the Central Government had decided to initiate partial re-opening of schools across the country as part of Unlock 4. Amid various protests by parents, the government had issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) to regulate their working according to Covid norms.
Sawhney said that the Government is making hasty decisions and putting multiple lives at risk. Whether enough precautions are taken, there’s still chances of spreading the virus. Although it is optional for students to attend schools, it will be mandatory for all the staff to attend once the schools reopen. It will include the helping staff, the administrative staff and the teaching staff, and will also put their families at risk.
“Children might not be conscious of sanitising and washing their hands, or maintaining social distancing. This is the wrong time for reopening schools, for reasons largely rooted in public health—and, in particular, concerns about health risks for staff, who are at a much higher risk than students—and the general sense that if schools open, there will be more movement around, and that may itself trigger more cases.”, added Sawhney. He added that opening schools is a dangerous experiment where students and staff are Guinea pigs for the centre amidst the pandemic.
Sawhney also criticised the administration for blindly following the Centre’s move and deciding to reopen schools in J&K despite the worsening situation here. It should be avoided that so many people are put at risk together, when there’s an alternative of online education. It is true that many don’t have access to internet, in those cases, the government must attempt to provide that access or help create small study groups for students with no internet access to get quality education. Opening schools at this point should be avoided at all costs, said Sawhney.
The current session should continue in an E-learning mode until the government is confident that opening of schools won’t be a disaster. He urged that the government should re-think its decision and postpone the opening of educational institutions until the pandemic situation is brought under definite control
