61% parents in Delhi-NCR don’t want schools to reopen from September 1, reveals survey

NEW DELHI: Close to 61% of parents in Delhi-NCR do not want schools to reopen by September 1, a survey has highlighted. At the national level, 58% are against the idea. The Centre is mulling reopening of schools and other educational institutions in a phase-wise manner between September 1 and November 14, said sources.
In a survey conducted by LocalCircles, a community social media platform, the decisions of the parents were guided by several factors.

In Delhi, 16% of the parents shared that they cannot afford to take chances with children given the high risk and uncertainties of Covid-19. Around 2% were worried about elderly family members in case the child gets infected. Another 8% said that it would not be possible to maintain social distancing in schools and there were fears among 7% parents that opening schools might increase the spread of Covid-19. Many felt that online education was a good substitute given the situation. A total of 47% shared their decisions were guided taking into view all of these factors. Over 3,000 parents had participated in the survey from the national capital.
The schools have been closed since March and as per the latest circular of the MHA, they will remain shut till August 31. Earlier, the Ministry of Education had sought suggestions from parents on schools’ reopening.
“Ever since it was reported that the government is considering opening schools from September 1 for senior classes and middle school, parents from Delhi and NCR have been discussing this issue in our communities quite passionately,” said Sachin Taparia, founder, LocalCircles.
Many parents have opined that schools can’t be started this year.
“They are of the view that the government efforts need to focus on enabling online education in more schools,” Taparia added.
Over the past few days, Delhi has seen a rise in the number of fresh coronavirus cases. On Monday, there were 707 new cases and 20 deaths.
In other countries where schools are being reopened, students and school staff have been found positive. America is one of them. “In early May, Israel became the first country to restart schools and within a few days, hundreds of students and teachers got infected. Kenya has decided to cancel the entire school year to protect kids from the infection,” said Taparia.
Apart from Delhi, parents in Gujarat (69%) and Madhya Pradesh (67%) too felt that reopening of schools from September was not a good idea. While in Uttar Pradesh, 60% parents were opposed to it, close to 55% parents did not favour it in Tamil Nadu.
LocalCircles had received 25,000+ responses for the survey from across 252 districts of India.