Delhi schools, colleges to resume September 1

Schools in Delhi will resume school, colleges, universities and coaching institutes on September 1st, announced Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also stated that children will require their parents' permission and that no one will be forced to attend classes due to a hybrid system.

It was not immediately clear if the colleges affiliated to the Delhi University will also resume classes from September 1. Sisodia said detailed guidelines on the reopening of educational institutions will be issued soon.

"About 70 per cent of people wanted schools to reopen, according to a Delhi government survey. We are still working on the protocols. It will be a blended mode of online and in-person classes," Sisodia, also the Education Minister, said.

The decision was taken at the meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Friday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier told that the government was considering reopening schools as early as possible but the final decision would be taken only after consulting all the stakeholders. "There has been a mixed experience of states which have reopened schools. We have been monitoring the situation," the Delhi CM had said.

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On August 6, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had asked officials to set up an expert panel to deliberate the reopening of schools in the national Capital.

Sisodia said around 98 per cent teachers of 1,053 government schools in Delhi have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and the rate of vaccination is high among private school teachers as well. There are 1,368 private schools in the city recognised by the Directorate of Education.

In fact, even UNICEF in a statement in early July said, "This should not go on. Schools should be the last to close and the first to reopen."

It further added, "The losses that children and young people will incur from not being in school may never be recouped. From learning loss, mental distress, exposure to violence and abuse, to missed school-based meals and vaccinations or reduced development of social skills, the consequences for children will be felt in their academic achievement and societal engagement as well as physical and mental health. The most affected are often children in low-resource settings who do not have access to remote learning tools, and the youngest children who are at key developmental stages.

“That’s why reopening schools for in-person learning cannot wait.

“It cannot wait for cases to go to zero."

(For more updates stay tuned with DNP India)