State Education Minister Jagannath Mahto on Saturday held a meeting with members of the management of private schools assuring them that the government would consider the proposal to start offline classes at the schools from February.
But, neither the minister nor his department has a final word over the matter of whether or not to open institutions. The final decision will be taken by the disaster management authority headed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the meeting of the authority is expected to take place next Saturday.
The minister said that the department would submit a proposal before the disaster management department to allow the opening of schools.
Notably, after a new variant of Covid 19 was detected and the country witnessed the third wave of the Covid 19 pandemic, the State government imposed the mini lockdown. All public places and academic institutions were closed.
Management of the private schools said that the Covid 19 pandemic is mostly under control hence schools should be reopened. They said that most of the schools are on the verge of closure or were closed and not many students can afford online classes.
They further said that many teachers became unemployed as schools were closed due to the lockdown. They said that the education of children has been affected since the online class is not a substitute for offline classes.
But, parents are suspicious of the move of the department and they are worried for their children. “The government should not take any decision in a hurry otherwise it will affect the children. Covid-19 has yet not been controlled; the vaccination drive is still going on. The government has undertaken the vaccination among youths of 15 to 18 years of age group. Is there any vaccine for children below 15? Children have very low immunity and we can’t risk their life,” said Sabita Mishra, a resident of Kanke Road.