Back to school with caution

With many states deciding to reopen educational institutions after a gap of nearly 18 months, mixed feelings of anxiety, excitement and apprehension are in the air. Students who were locked up for a long time and remained away from schools and colleges are eager to return to classrooms, while parents, especially of younger children, are anxious. Teachers, on the other hand, have a challenging task ahead trying to balance teaching with the maintenance of Covid-appropriate behaviour. Amidst all this have emerged some reports about the likelihood of a third wave in the months ahead. Given the fact that most business, economic and other activities have resumed in recent months, public health experts have supported the resumption of schools and colleges with certain suggested measures in place.

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The prolonged closure of schools has taken a toll on the learning capability of younger children. Though online teaching was introduced, it has its limitations. Studies have reported that young children have forgotten how to write simple words, do calculations or recognise colours and so on. Due to lack of access to digital devices or the Internet, many have dropped out. Those who could attend online classes on mobiles and laptops are also fatigued by digital education. Many schools were forced to close down as parents were not in a position to pay fees and schools had no support to keep teachers on their rolls. Scores of children have returned to farms or factories to help out their economically distressed parents. Millions are losing out on access to nutritious midday meals that used to be served in schools and anganwadis. Schools are not only places of learning and teaching but also are important for the overall personality development of children, providing them opportunities for socialisation and outdoor physical activity. Among older children, school and college closure has led to mental health problems as well.

While the resumption of face-to-face educational activity is justified on so many counts, it has to be balanced with public health concerns. School closure is considered a key non-pharmaceutical intervention to prevent infections during a pandemic, along with restrictions on mass gatherings of a religious, political and social nature. The early and long-term impact of such measures on the transmission of infection, mortality etc., has to be studied. If the benefits are not substantial, prolonging such interventions is unjustified. Here, lessons from the past pandemics could come in handy, which show that the timing of school closure and reopening is critical. Premature closure does not yield any significant health benefits while classes should be resumed at an appropriate point during the pandemic.

The intervention of school closure has to be considered in combination with other interventions such as vaccination as well as other non-pharmaceutical interventions. Unicef has pointed to evidence showing that primary and secondary schools are not among the main drivers of Covid-19 transmission. The UN agency has also stated that the question of opening schools should be guided by careful risk analysis and epidemiological factors in the communities where the schools are located. These decisions have to be calibrated using local and age-specific data, and not enforced based on centralised decision making. So, schools don’t need to be opened all over a state or even a district in one go.

The coming weeks pose a challenge for all stakeholders — school authorities, teachers, parents and students. Their active participation and cooperation is critical in the reopening process, particularly of parents. A survey last week found that 53% parents support the opening of schools. Though this number has gone up compared to previous surveys, it means still a lot of parents are hesitant. School authorities could form committees of parents and teachers to oversee reopening as well as in decision making. While state education and health departments are issuing Standard Operating Procedure, participation of parents is necessary for enforcing these guidelines. Involving parents would allay their fears and contain the spread of false information and rumours. Holding parent-teacher meetings and engaging ASHA workers to counsel parents and elders may also help. It is also vital to ensure that teachers and non-teaching staff are fully vaccinated, and parents are also motivated to get themselves vaccinated.

Schools will also have to devise new and flexible timetables to avoid crowding. Since it is not possible to effect changes in built infrastructure to provide greater ventilation, options like holding classes open wherever possible should be explored. In rural areas, school authorities should collaborate with other wings of the government health department, panchayati raj institutions to use their open areas.

The pandemic has provided an opportunity to work on the long-term preparedness of educational institutions for future pandemics. Governments must invest in school health programmes. Over the years, routine health checkups have either disappeared or have been reduced to an annual ritual. The time has come to revive health infrastructure in schools, including the appointment of the full-time school nurse and psychological counsellors. For now, parents have also suggested equipping schools with basic facilities like monitoring of Covid-19 symptoms and rapid antigen test kits. Steps have to be taken to avoid overcrowding in schools. Profit-driven private schools have expanded far beyond their physical infrastructure, resulting in crowding and poor quality of education. If more children are admitted, they have to study in poor quality classrooms without basic facilities. Built infrastructure has to be redesigned keeping in mind the need for greater ventilation, light and open spaces. Appropriate lessons in health education should be included in the curriculum at all levels. For online education, basic digital infrastructure needs to be developed to take care of the special needs of those on the other side of the digital divide. It will also require reskilling of teachers.