A section of parents from Mumbai has petitioned the government to reopen physical schools for all classes following a drop in Covid-19 cases in the city. He has also written an open letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray about the problems faced by students during online classes and the impact of the pandemic on their children. More than 1,800 people have signed the petition.
The group is also running a campaign called #OpenMumbaiSchools on the social media platform. According to the open letter, the parents said their children’s mental health has been affected. “Children are lagging behind in studies because of online school. They are not keeping up with information, they are finding it difficult to concentrate and they are suffering severely. This is affecting their mental health. Depression and anxiety are on the rise. Children in their formative years are reading hard and their math skills lag behind,” the letter read.
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Gayatri Sabharwal, a parent of two children, said that everything has opened up in the state and hence children should also be allowed to attend schools. “Children are going to malls, playgrounds and birthday parties but they are not allowed to go to school. Also, we parents want the best for our children and we are urging the government to allow physical schools to reopen for all,” Sabharwal told The Times of India.
He said parents have spoken to several pediatricians who said it is safe for children to go to school. “Children have natural immunity. Even if they contract the virus, they have a mild infection,” said Sabharwal.
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Tanya Dere, the mother of a six-year-old girl, told the Daily News that offline classes are more effective than online learning. Furthermore, “Children today are socially awkward due to limited physical contact. With most parents and grandparents now fully vaccinated, the risk of contracting the virus from children has also reduced,” Dere said.
Maharashtra already has schools for classes 5 to 12 in rural areas and classes 8 to 12 in urban areas from October 4. The education department has also announced that it will resume physical classes for students. Classes 5 to 7 in urban areas and classes 1 to 4 in rural areas soon, In Mumbai, around 85 per cent of schools reopened, however, student attendance was recorded at less than 35 per cent.
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