The Associated Managements of Private Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) has written to Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai seeking reopening of schools across the state days after some districts including Bengaluru, Belagavi and Mysuru announced suspension of in-person classes.
Karnataka is currently reeling under the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and in the past 24 hours alone, over 41,000 cases have been reported, many others unaccounted for in the data with the rampant use of home test kits.
However, citing scientific evidence to support their argument that children would only have mild symptoms, the private schools association has asked for immediate reopening of schools and colleges.
“The education sector has already suffered enough because of consecutive lockdowns. Children are still unable to overcome the learning loss induced by the previous lockdown and school closure. Should the government continue to keep schools shut, the learning gap among children will only widen,” D Shashikumar, general secretary, KAMS has said in the letter.
They have also urged the government to consider the plight of those children who underprivileged. “90% of children whose parents are either daily wagers, factory or garment labourers are facing difficult circumstances. With the limited income they draw, these parents make a living with great difficulty. If their children are denied education, it would only lead to an irreparable loss. Not just this, keeping schools shut also means denying the basic right to education for several children,” KAMS has remarked.
The association has also urged the state government to consider only closure of educational institutions in those areas where the cases are very high and not suspend in-person classes across any given district. They have also sought that in-detail SOP be given to schools to be followed.
