-Reshma Ravishanker

The Association of Healthcare Providers India (AHPI) has recommended the setting up of a task force or committee in each school for implementing safety measures as in-person classes commence in schools in many states in the country amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

AHPI, the representative organization of a majority of private healthcare providers in association with GCCMC enabled by Wipro released a set of guidelines encompassing responsibilities of all stakeholders and mental health issues as several states have commenced in-person classes in schools.

The committee or task force that will be established in schools will have the principal as the chairperson and also have a senior teacher (preferably the biology teacher), class teachers of all classes, class monitor, a parent representative, a non-teaching employee, physician, and an urban local body or panchayat representatives as members. The committee will be responsible to ensure the Covid-19 protocols are followed ensuring the safety of staff and students while also addressing individual school needs.

The association, however, clarified that these are guidelines to be followed if deliberations over reopening of schools evokes a mutual consensus and refrained from recommending whether it is apt to commence physical classes immediately.

The guidelines have been framed in consultations with experts in the field of healthcare and education while stakeholders such as parents and teachers have reviewed the same.

Dr Alexander Thomas, president, AHPI said that the association hopes that as the second wave is seemingly tapering, the hopes are that the third wave would be milder. “With the onset of the pandemic, the education sector has been affected like never before. The loss cannot be quantified. With schools remaining shuttered, many children have turned malnourished due to the stoppage of mid-day meals. Now as schools over the country are set to open, there is panic among teachers, parents and children. When we started talking about the guidelines, we got panic calls from parents asking whether it is important to start schools and whether it has to be prioritized over the safety of the child. It is a sensitive issue and we want to clarify that this is not to be considered as a recommendation to open schools. These are guidelines to be followed if a decision is made to commence in-person classes. This is the second guideline after we gave one for civil aviation. These have undergone 15 rounds of editing,” he said.

The report will be submitted to the union ministry for health and family welfare. The entire report can be accessed at https://www.ahpi.in/. 

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