Corona Diaries 38: Why Reopening Of Schools Must Be A Collective Call

Should schools open or should they not? The topic is being debated with certain urgency in several circles. The arguments on both sides are compelling. Before we go there, here’s a look at the pandemic situation, the backdrop to the debate, in the country.

Three lakh and fifty thousand COVID-19 positive cases and counting. All predictions indicate to a spike in number of infected population in the coming months. Governments everywhere are in a quandary over moves to handle an avalanche of cases. Railway coaches and public buildings are being converted into make-shift hospital wards. And the desperate rush for other infrastructure is on. The unlocking exercise, everyone is convinced, is a huge leap in the dark. But it has to be given a chance. Locking people up longer is not viable any more, for reasons economic and otherwise. Given the gloomy backdrop, pretension of normalcy is perhaps a better option than no normalcy. Children going to schools is a reassuring sign that all is not lost.

Of course, it stretches commonsense. When the uptick in cases continues in terrifying strides, aren’t we exposing our young to health hazard? The question is a valid one. Physical distancing in schools is fine, but children being children are most likely to forget it once they are among friends. By now we know one infection can lead to many. By the time one student is detected positive, he might have passed the virus to several of his schoolmates. They have to be quarantined, defeating the very purpose of allowing schools to open. Given the circumstances, isn’t online education or suspension of classes till the pandemic is over a better option? This is one point of view.

Forget about governments trying to make things look normal, goes the counterpoint, the reality is children are in a pernicious situation. Staying confined to homes, particularly for those not staying in joint families or decently spacious houses, it can be like life in a prison. Since neither the parents’ generation nor the grandparent generation had any experience of dealing with a problem like this, the children are left to their own devices. With little scope for expressing themselves or simply to be themselves, they could be suffering serious psychological damage, child mental health experts feel. Lack of normal socialisation may turn them into socially awkward personalities. School would be a good escape for them. Studies are a lesser priority than children interacting with each other and just letting themselves go.

Moreover, though a good idea, online education is still out of reach for many. By pushing it through in a hurry we could be actually benefiting a few at the cost of many and introducing asymmetries into a well-oiled system. Sending them back to school would be a good way out. The fear of infection could be managed through an alert and sensible school administration.

The aim of this article is not to go deep into the merits of both points of view and take a firm position but to present the case as it stands before readers, parents of school-going children among them in particular. It’s up to them to weigh options.

SCHOOL? NO WAY

Asked whether she would consider sending her 13-year-old to school if it reopened for physical classes, the friend’s wife replied with a blunt NO. “What has changed?” she asked. “If schools were not safe two months ago, how are they safe now? The threat of infection is even bigger. At home, he is under my watch. I cannot trust the school to be careful the same way.” She was echoing the view of several parents.

Schools may be eager to get back to the normal schedule, and the government keen to back their decision, but who would be responsible if a child takes ill? Perhaps the burden of responsibility would finally rest with the child. He was too careless, he didn’t follow instructions, we had warned him — the school, given the opaque manner most schools function, can make any excuse and get away with it.

The fundamental issue here is the health of children. Before we open schools, we must ask the question: Where does accountability lie?

CASE FOR A CONSENSUS CALL

An extension to the matter raised above calls for serious attention too. If the government and school managements decide to reopen schools and parents are unwilling to take a risk with their children, can they be forced to do so? Some states are eager to let educational institutions resume normal academic activities despite growing cases of COVID-19. If they do so, will there be some accommodation and flexibility for students who want to do home-study? This won’t be an easy exercise.

But parents are a big stakeholder in the education system too. Other players cannot just ride roughshod over them. There may be legal challenges from their side. A good way out would be to involve parents in decision-making. Most schools are loathe to doing this but governments are duty-bound to be responsive to concerns of parents. They need to be proactive.

SHOULD WE OR SHOULDN’T WE?

Having laid out a few dimensions of the issue of reopening schools, we comeback to the question we began with: Should we or shouldn’t we? The answer is this has to be a collective decision involving all stakeholders. Exposing children to the risk of disease despite being aware of it is not only immoral, it is criminal too.