Top Indian social scientists and epidemiologists have urged reopening of schools for all age groups mentioning that reopening of in-person school classes for all age groups, has benefits that outweigh the risks especially for underprivileged children staying in rural areas as they are missing out on online education.
As past few weeks have witnessed a stabilised infection rates, several Indian states have restarted face-to-face teaching, for children studying in middle school and above. A group of scholars have mentioned to the authorities that since schools are an essential service, they should be the last to close and the first to reopen. According to them its time to think about reopening of schools as a disaster in the educational sphere is looming large if it is not done so.The health and education ministries have not immediately responded to this appeal.The federal government has left the decision to reopen schools on the state governments.
The Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine, whose roughly 6,000 members are doctors and have studied epidemiology, have informed the government in a report that it is safe to resume all offline classes after taking precautions such as masking, improved ventilation, and physical distancing.
