Majority of parents do not want schools to reopen: Survey

According to a recent survey by LocalCircles, only 33 percent parents support reopening of schools from September 1. It would be hard to implement social distancing norms in schools which in turn would pose risk to seniors in the family.

According to latest reports, the central government is considering opening schools from September 1 as part of its final unlocking measures starting with Classes 10-12 and Classes 6-9 with a 15-day gap.

Many schools started online sessions for the children to ensure that learning does not stop.

The survey by LocalCircles received over 25,000 responses from parents and grandparents in different parts of India. 

The infection is spreading so fast in the country that it took only 20 days for the number of infected to increase from 1 million to 2 million and as per the WHO guidelines, children fall in the high-risk category.

Children if infected can be carriers of the virus and spread it to other members of the family with grandparents being the most vulnerable as many families in India have a joint family structure.

Parents were asked if they approve of the reported government plan of restarting schools from September 1 for classes 10-12 and for classes 6-10 after 15 days. In response, 58 per cent said ‘no’ while only 33 per cent answered ‘yes’.

With majority of the parents opposing the reopening of school, parents were also asked for the reason as to why they are opposed to schools in India starting from September 1, 2020. In response, 13 percent said they cannot afford to take chances with children given the risk related to Covid-19, while 1 per cent said there is a serious risk with seniors in the family in case a child in the family gets infected.

Nine percent said social distancing will not be possible in schools while five percent said the coronavirus spread will increase even faster if schools were reopened, and about 2 percent said they believe online education is a good substitute given the situation.

A 47 percent said all of the above were valid reasons for them as 23 percent said they are not opposed to opening of schools from September 1.

Source: IANS

Read: Most parents in Karnataka, Delhi want longer online classes: Survey

Also read: US schools reopening: 97,000 children test positive for Covid-19 in just two weeks