Mita Mukherjee

48 percent parents in India do not want to send their children to school till they get Covid vaccine, according to a survey conducted by LocalCircles, an online platform. 

While 30 percent parents are willing to send their children to school once the number of Coronavirus cases reduce to zero in their own or nearby districts and 21 percent parents are ready to send their wards to the schools whenever the campuses reopen, the survey revealed. 32,000 parents from 361 districts (tier 1, tier 2 and rural areas) in India participated in the survey, 68 percent of the persons interviewed were men and 32 percent women. 

In a previous survey held by the LocalCircle in June 2021, it was found that 37 percent parents wanted to send their children to schools only after they were vaccinated. The 11 percent rise in the percentage of parents willing to send their children after vaccination noticed in the latest survey is significant as it indicates that the hesitancy among parents to inoculate children has reduced with growing evidence that the Delta and Delta plus strains could be more harmful for children than the strains of 2020 including the UK strain.

During the survey when parents were asked what they would do if the government takes a decision to start in-person classes, 41 percent parents said they were ready to send their wards to the campuses. Around 20 percent of them said they will do so as they don’t want to miss physical classes any more but wanted schools to follow Covid protocol effectively.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently said children are likely to get vaccinated from August. Several parents suggested to LocalCircles during the survey that the vaccination should be done from the schools.

Schools across India are continuing to teach through the online mode since March 2020. After the second wave, several states have decided to reopen schools for offline teaching for the students of senior classes. Maharashtra government has allowed schools in areas with zero active cases to start physical classes for classes VIII to XII from July 15.

Also read:

Covid 19 vaccine for children: Is India way behind?

Covid-19 vaccine for children will be available by September