Chandigarh: A survey conducted by the Haryana school education department showed that 30.1% of the respondents, including parents, teachers and students, wanted schools to reopen in the state amid Covid-19 pandemic.
The survey was conducted after the ministry of human resource development on July 17 directed education secretaries of all states and UTs to gather feedback from parents on when would they want the schools to reopen and what changes they expect to be introduced.
About 1.53 lakh respondents from all 22 Haryana districts took part in the online survey between July 19 and July 21, 30.1% of whom wanted schools to be reopened in the current scenario. While 57.1% said the schools should remain closed, remaining 12.8% were of the view that schools should be open partially.
According to the survey, 35.9% of the respondents were students, 34.8% parents, 23% teachers and 6.3% government and private school organizers, officials from the education department and others.
50.1% of the respondents belonged to urban areas and 49.9% were from rural areas of Haryana.
About 39% respondents wanted schools to be opened for Classes 10 and 12 in August, 15% in September, 14.7% in October and 31.1% sought more time. While 17.3% of the respondents said Classes 6 to 8 should be resumed in August, 14.5% wanted it to happen in September, 18.6% in October and 49.7% opted for a later period.
For primary classes, 11.4% of respondents wanted schools to be reopened in August, 9.1% in September, 14.9% in October and 64.5% post-October.
Meanwhile, 10.3% of the respondents showed willingness towards resumption of classes for nursery and kindergarten students in August, 6.2% in September, 10.7% in October and 72.8% later.
Schools in Haryana are shut since the lockdown came into effect in the last week of March.
Haryana education minister Kanwar Pal Gurjar said most of the parents, whose children studied in government schools, agreed upon reopening of schools.
“It’s easier to ensure compliance with social distancing norms in government schools of rural areas. It’s harder in the urban areas as children opt for buses, vans and auto-rickshaws as their means of transport. We are ready to open government schools in two shifts in rural areas, whereas plans are being chalked out for students of urban areas. After getting clearance from the HRD ministry, we will reopen the schools as per the SOPs,” the minister added.
Source: HT
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