Preparing school edu for Omicron
The worrying spate of COVID-19 clusters in educational institutions across Karnataka, coupled with a surprise appearance of the Omicron variant early on - the first-ever cases in India were reported in Bengaluru - has left the government in a dilemma: a choice between children's health and their education. Should the government shut down schools and colleges and risk another zero year, or should it treat the clusters on a case-to-case basis and plough on, hoping for the best? Fortunately, the rash of cases have proved to be of a mild variety, but these are uncertain times and the health authorities are dealing with a rapidly mutating virus.
As expected, there is a groundswell of opposition among parents, who feel unvaccinated kids are being exposed to the virus. Educationists, though, are advocating continuation of offline classes, saying children can ill-afford another disruption. Health experts, too, feel it could lead to better immunity among kids. The 20-month closure has already taken its toll on learning and created a divide in society - while private schools have the wherewithal to move back to online classes and minimise loss of learning, government school students have ended up as the biggest losers. Especially as a paediatric vaccine is nowhere near implementation.
While it is hoped that the Omicron variant could tail out the pandemic, experts say it is prudent to be prepared for a long-drawn battle against the virus. If the coming year does bring in the third wave, as it has across Europe and other regions of the world, the government should ensure that the education sector is not too hard-hit. It should foresee the pitfalls and adopt a two-pronged approach to keep the situation as stable and normal as possible: Push ahead with vaccination and booster doses for adults, besides early implementation of paediatric inoculation, and simultaneously explore inclusive digital learning solutions for government schools so that underprivileged students do not get left by the wayside.