Schools may reopen post Diwali; parents, teachers criticise move

There may be no more online classes for Stds IXXII after Diwali as the states school education ministry on Friday proposed to reopen schools for these classes from November 23 onwards as per Standard Operating Procedures SOP While a final nod is awaited from CM Uddhav Thackeray parents and teachers have questioned why the hurrySchool Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said on Friday We have proposed before the Chief Minister to reopen schools for classes IXXII from November 23 along with SOPs to ensure safety A final decision will be taken based on approval by the chief minister While creating required health facilities will be important parents permission will also be important Gaikwad said adding that HSC and SSC exams will be postponed from FebruaryMarch to MayVarsha Gaikwad school education ministerStudents benefit and safety will be of the utmost importance while considering the schedule for board exams Gaikwad addedStakeholders upsetThere has been constant uncertainty over the reopening of schools The ministers statement sparked concerns among stakeholders The most heard argument has been that none of the stakeholders was made part of the decisionmaking processShivnath Darade secretary of the Mumbai division of Maharashtra Teachers Association said In Mumbai alone 270 schools were COVID19 centres Some of them still continue to be How does the government plan to reopen schools by the end of this monthParents have asked how schools will enfore social distancingWhat is the plan of sanitisation of these schools The schools which are no longer COVID19 centres are awaiting sanitisation Those which have been sanitised saw a poor job being done What is the hurry to reopen schools when colleges themselves are waiting to reopen This is why it is important to have all stakeholders involved in the decisionmaking process These decisions cannot be taken sitting in Mantralaya Darade saidTeachers pointed out that stakeholders were not involved in the discussions REPRESENTATION PICDarade said that he is constantly receiving queries on the sanitisation of schools and complaints about how the civic body has done a shoddy job Managements of many government schools have no money to sanitise entire premisesWhat about second waveParents too have raised concerns over maintaining social distancing during classes break times and during travel to school Children are bound to gather outside schools Schools cannot ensure social distancing outside the premises Online all 40 students from a class can learn together How will they study together at regular school How will they ensure the same level of learning for all There are more questions than answers said Anubha Shrivastava president India Wide Parents AssociationAnubha Shrivastava president India Wide Parents AssociationShe added that Maharashtra should learn from the experience of other states like Delhi and Andhra Pradesh where schools had to be closed again The state government is anyway fearing a second wave after Diwali Then why the hurry to reopen schools Shrivastava saidNo plan to reopen colleges soonExactly opposite to the school education departments stand the State Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant on Friday said there is no date or plan to reopen colleges as yet The University Grants Commission UGC too has issued guidelines to think of reopening after Diwali vacation The department will take a decision on this after Diwali A meeting will be held between the vicechancellors of all state universities and the CM Suggestions of the Disaster Management committee will also be taken into said Samant during a press conferenceTaunting the Centre Samant added Thankfully the UGC has given states this liberty to take decisions where universities have to consult respective state governments I hope this directive does not change the way the examrelated circular had changed from April to JulyKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news