Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Dr. Randeep Guleria spoke about the re-opening of schools that have been shut for over a year now. Dr. Guleria said that there is a need to work aggressively in this regard as the schools have been shut for way too long now owing to the pandemic.
Dr. Guleria refers to schools as the place which leads to the growth of the individual through various activities. He went on to say that the shutting down of schools has to lead to a huge disadvantage for students and especially those who can’t afford to attend the online classes, the marginalized sections. The closure of schools has affected students and their growth.
The question of re-opening schools has once again come into the picture as has been a constant decline in the number of cases of COVID-19 in the country. Upon being questioned about the re-opening of schools, the central government has assured that once a significant portion of the population is vaccinated against the virus, schools will be re-opened.
Last year, in March, all educational institutions were shut down following the nationwide lockdown. In February-March 2021, many schools tried to resume physical classes adn schooling but only to shut down again due to the advent of the second wave of coronavirus.
AIIMS director Dr. Guleria said that physical schools enable growth in individuals through activities and interaction with each other. These activities support the development of a child’s character. he talked about trying and working out strategies to re-open schools gradually.
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FINAL YEAR CLASSES AT DU TO BEGIN FROM JULY 20
Although the central government has no plans to re-open schools anytime soon, states like Telangana and Maharashtra have geared up to call students back to schools gradually through the partial opening.
On Tuesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray directed the state Education Department to explore the possibility of restarting schools and colleges for students of Classes 10 and 12. This will be initiated in villages that have no COVID-19 cases.
From 1 July 2021, the schools in Telangana will resume classes.
After considering the declining number of Covid cases and examining the reports submitted by the Telangana Medical and Health Department officials, the state government has taken this decision.
