Delhi: Why wait till April to go offline, ask schools

NEW DELHI: After Delhi Disaster Management Authority allowed classes to resume in person from April 1, the various school associations have questioned the need to wait till then. One of the associations, the Action Committee of Unaided Private Schools, even said that it would write to lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, who is chairman of DDMA, requesting him to allow full physical classes from March 1 itself.
On Thursday, another association, the National Progressive Schools Conference, had written to the LG seeking the end of hybrid classes.
Bharat Arora, general secretary of Action Committee, said, “The private schools fraternity hails the decision taken by DDMA and it is a big relief to learn that there are no longer any restrictions on schools regarding the mode of instruction from April 1. However, we request DDMA to allow a full offline mode of instruction from March 1 instead of a month later. This will not only allow schools to resume smoothly, but will also allow students and parents to regain confidence before the new academic session begins.”
With the new academic session to start in April, Sudha Acharya, chairperson of NPSC, argued that further delay in full resumption of classes will widen the already existing learning gaps. “Why April 1? It should have been allowed from March 1 itself,” insisted Acharya. “We have observed that children from nursery to Class VIII have a huge learning gap. In March, we could have focused our efforts on bridging that gap so that children would have been ready for their upgrade in April. The teachers are overburdened with both online and offline teaching and the assessments. Their mental health and well-being are of utmost importance for us if we are to deliver quality education and create a joyful environment in the school.”
Among parent associations too, DDMA’s decision on Friday was welcomed, with one such body stressing on in-person classes starting from March rather than April.
Delhi Parents’ Association said in a statement, “We welcome the decision on full re-opening from April 1. Most parents had been wanting this for a long time. But we hope that by then the schools will also resume school transport facilities.” At present, most schools haven’t resumed their bus transport services.
The Jagrook Parents’ Association felt that the schools could reopen fully from March 15. “This would help the students to get back to routine and would be easier for them to settle down before the new session,” explained the association’s Virendra Singh.
Some parents, such as Tanya Agarwal, questioned why Delhi was being so cautious when places like Mumbai had decided to revert to pre-Covid routines from March. “What miracle will happen in one month’s time that Delhi government is delaying our kids' normalcy till April 1?” she asked.