It has been nearly a Year since schools shutdown. There was the “Lockdown”, followed by extended period of Covid19 pandemic, that have paralysed school education in several parts of the world.
While lessons are being delivered online. It was never going to be the same as going to school. It was a expected to be a temporary reprieve with an intent to prevent discontinuity in learning. Subsequently, combined with Activities that children can do at home, using learning kits, treasure chest of well designed learning activities, provided an active supplement to learning from home. However, children are becoming restless, parents are becoming edgy, schools and Educators are frustrated. Not knowing when schools could reopen?
What are we waiting for:
For all of to be vaccinated? When will that happen? How effective will it be? Will there be side effects? Is it better for Herd immunity to happen?
Assuming schools reopen, Are our schools prepared to comply with SOPs? How practical will it be to implement the SOPs? Anyway when the schools reopen the parents will still have an option of their children choosing to learn from from home.
The big question will be who goes first. All of us want our children to be safe, and will be cautious. Parents will want other children to start going to school first, wait and watch for a few weeks or more. If nothing negative happens, more parents may reconcile to school as usual, or even a blended model.
What happens to use of bus transport, to & from School? How do we maintain strict social distancing and other SOPs. Given the mindsets of, parents, are mostly, I don’t want my Grandchild to try first, Let someone else try it out first, ensure they have had no side-effects there are no side effects. Only then more and more parents will decide to send their children.
Inquiries have already started for the next academic year. But schools do not know when this is likely? Many schools have not received Fee from Many of the Parents, the logic is simple: my child has not attended school? So Why Pay Fees?
The Government asked Private schools, that they should not insist on the Fee. OK! Government Order! Schools who could afford to keep the faculty on payroll and even give them due increments – complying to social responsibility. Many schools, retrenched faculty, have not paid salaries for several months. Hopefully they will get back to schools early. It is a question of livelihood, and also about reopening education.
All of us are looking forward to schools reopening and to see the buzz in our lives – our children getting back to being normal kids, in potentially a new normal ecosystem.
