CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has announced a state-wide consultation with parents will be held on Monday regarding the reopening of schools for students in classes 9 to 12.
Earlier this week the government had said that classes will start on November 16 for these students. This had elicited criticism from opposition parties who said that the government was putting the lives
of students and their family members at risk in the midst of a pandemic. However, teachers and school administrators felt that some kind of physical contact was required with students.
In a statement on Wednesday, the government said the principals of government, aided and private schools should hold a consultation with parents and members of the parents-teachers association about the feasibility of reopening schools for classes 9-12. The government has also sought opinion from private school managements.
Stakeholders can assemble their respective school at 10 am on Monday (Nov 9) to submit their views on the scheduled reopening. However, all schools should ensure that social distancing and safety protocols are followed during the consultation. Those who cannot attend the consultation in person can send their feedback via letter, the statement said.
The announcement was made after the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami held a meeting with top officials on Wednesday. Schools and other educational institutions have been shut since March in Tamil Nadu.
The government said that the earlier decision to reopen was taken based on suggestions from teachers who said that completing the curriculum remotely was hard and was likely to get harder during the
holiday season. With many festivals including Deepavali, Christmas and New Year lined up in the next couple of months, finishing this academic year's portion will be increasingly difficult, the government
said.
However, Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary, State Platform for Common School System said that the festival season increases the chance of the virus spreading even more rapidly. "Social distancing is sparsely maintained by shoppers during festival seasons. Deepavali falls on November 14 and 15, when children will mingle with many people," he said elaborating that reopening school the immediate day after can significantly increase the transmission among children and their families.
He further added that the state government should work towards cutting down the syllabus by conducting a study into the curriculum and the ability to disseminate information and education.
Private schools are also in a state of confusion about the safety of resuming schools, said Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association president R Visalakshi, who is based out of Coimbatore. "We are also
in utter confusion. The government should resume in-person classes for students in Class 10 and 12 for sure," she said.
She however said that such classes should not be held on a daily basis, akin to pre-covid times. "Classes can be started on a trial and error basis. They can suggest a rotation-class system, only doubt
clearing classes or a combination of online and physical classes," she said. She added that children who are asymptomatic with Covid-19, will threaten the safety of the entire school.
A class 12 teacher from a private school in Chennai said that online classes have worked well for some students who already study well. "We are unable to help students who are already struggling to perform
well. Maybe schools should have the ability to pick and select only a few students who can come to school on given days," the teacher said.
PK Ilamaran, the leader of the Tamil Nadu Government Teachers Association said that even if classe are started, the government should provide clean water, soaps, masks and sanitisers for all
students, particularly to those from government schools.
V Amudha, a city-based parent, who lives in a joint family with her in-laws, told Express that she is scared to send her children to school. Her sons are in classes 9 and 12 respectively. "Both my in-laws have co-morbidities and we have been very careful not to go out unnecessarily anywhere during the lockdown. We can't keep watch of children at school," she said.