Page 14 - EducationWorld March 2022

Education News

DELHI will give students and parents more
Reopening complications time to find their bearings before the

new academic year. Simultaneously,
the National Progressive Schools
Conference (NPSC) has also writ-
ten to the LG requesting an order
ending the hybrid option for parents
and students. “Parents are reluctant
for offline assessment while online
classes are allowed. Also, we are fac-
ing problems in teaching as online
and offline classes are allowed,”
wrote Sudha Acharya, chairper-
son, NPSC in a letter to the LG.
Her argument is that the prolonged
lockdown of two years has taken a
massive toll on the mental and physi-
cal well-being of children in all age
groups. Therefore, it’s in the interest
of students to begin normal school-
ing immediately.
Another major demand of private
Delhi children returning to school. Inset: Bharat Arora schools is to extend the life of school-
owned buses which is restricted to 15
f parents and students in india for hybrid classes (online and on- years under the Motor Vehicles Act,
experienced the world’s most campus with 50 percent of children 1988. According to private school
Iprolonged lockdown of schools attending on alternate days), and associations, two extra years should
during the Covid-19 pandemic, the again in November-December. But be added to the registration date
national capital’s citizens claim they only for a few weeks before the Delta because their buses have been moth-
experienced the longest schools’ and Omicron variants of the virus balled for almost two years. More-
lockdown within India. Now with forced reclosure. over, road taxes should be waived as
Covid-19 reduced to a mere epidem- Although the resolute announce- the buses didn’t ply. “These vehicles
ic, it’s official that Delhi’s 5,500 K-12 ment of resumption of normative are in perfect condition and meet
schools which educate 4.5 million schooling from April 1 has been all environmental and pollution
children, will restart on-campus, welcomed by teachers, parents and emission norms. Their engines are
in-class normative schooling on students, private schools would have in good shape as they were parked
April 1 which also marks the start of been happier if schools had been ful- safely on school grounds from March
the traditional academic year. This ly reopened a month earlier — from 2020 till today. Extending registra-
announcement was made by the March 1. Currently, while children tion of these buses will save us the
Delhi Disaster Management Author- are learning in the online and hybrid considerable capital expenditure of
ity (DDMA) following a meeting on modes, schools are obliged to obtain purchasing new buses,” says Bharat
February 25. parental consent for students attend- Arora, general secretary, Action
On February 14, DDMA had ing on-campus classes with parents Committee of Unaided Private
permitted schools to reopen par- having the choice to opt for exclu- Schools, including budget private
tially to provide hybrid learning sively online education. This has schools.
in classes K-VIII and normative imposed a double load on teachers. Meanwhile with in-person classes
in-person education to children in Anxious to get schools started in officially scheduled to restart on
classes IX-XII. DDMA’s February right earnest, the Action Committee April 1, non-minority private day
25 pronouncement ends the on-off of Unaided Private Schools, an asso- school managements are grappling
uncertainty that had disrupted chil- ciation representing 2,000 schools in with the issue of admitting chil-
dren’s education since the national Delhi NCR has written to Anil Baijal, dren of poor households in their
lockdown was announced on March the Central government-appointed neighbourhood under s.12 (1) (c)
25, 2020. In January 2021 after ten Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and of the Right of Children to Free
months of closure, Delhi’s schools DDMA chairman, to begin normal and Compulsory Education (RTE)
were permitted to reopen partially on-campus school from March 1 as it Act, 2009. Since the Directorate of

14 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2022