Page 50 - EW July 2021 final

Cover Story

magazine, “Covid-19 rarely makes
children very ill. In the year to April
the chance of an American aged 5-14
catching and dying from the virus
was about one in 500,000 — roughly
a tenth of a child’s chance of dying in a
traffic accident in normal times.”
T HEREFORE, EVEN after

allowing for more undis-
ciplined traffic in India,
children are not as vul-
nerable as is officially proclaimed,
and generally accepted. In the circum-
stances there is a strong case in favour
of permitting schools that promise to
practice safety protocols such as pe-
riodic sanitisation, masking, hand-
washing and allowing only half of
students in class per day, to restart
on-campus classes. Adds The Econo-
mist: “Young brains are being starved Slum dweller children in Kolkata: safer in school
of stimulation. Primary-school pupils
in England are around three months dren’s education which will shape these major stakeholders in education
behind where they normally would be; their livelihoods, careers and income- for almost two years. Now it’s patently
children in Ethiopia learned 60-70 generation capabilities has been se- obvious that they are best qualified to
percent less than usual during 2020. verely damaged. Bottom-of-pyramid decide if and when education institu-
Even before the pandemic things were citizens obliged to reside in cramped tions have implemented Covid proto-
bad. More than half of ten-year-olds joint family homes without digital cols to restart children’s education.
in low- and middle-income countries connectivity and devices would much Devolving the schools restart and
could not read a simple paragraph. rather send their children to schools attendance decision to school prin-
The World Bank warns this could rise that observe basic Covid safety pro- cipals and parents with the latter
to almost two-thirds. In all countries tocols. obliged to sign consent letters allow-
school closures will widen the gap Fifteen months after the lockdown ing their children to attend in-school
between better-off pupils (who have of all education institutions nation- classes, is the best way forward to re-
iPads and quiet bedrooms for remote wide during which already educa- sume and continue learning. It’s fool-
learning) and worse-off ones (who of- tionally short-changed children have ish of government to continue to be-
ten don’t).” lost an estimated two years of learn- lieve that even after experiencing the
The plain truth as The Economist ing, and daily Covid positivity having worst ravages of the virus for almost
comments is that few governments flattened to below 5 percent, its time two years, principals and teachers are
worldwide have “carefully weighed for the omniscient neta-babu brother- oblivious of pandemic protocols and
the costs and risks of reopening hood of the Centre and state govern- ways and means to provide safe learn-
schools,” and India is no exception. ments to devolve the power to restart ing environments for students.
It’s pertinent to recall that when the schools upon institutional manage- With a children’s vaccine around
presence of the novel Coronavirus was ments and parents. Typically the of- the corner, the Centre and state gov-
acknowledged in mid-March 2020, ficial brotherhood has infantilised ernments need to urgently devolve and
schools were immediately ordered to localise the decision to restart schools
shut down, prior to promulgation of upon principal stakeholders subject
the comprehensive national lockdown School managements and to provision of safe learning environ-
on March 25, and have remained shut- parents are best positioned ments. The balance between children’s
tered since. While such solicitude for safety and their right to protect future
the health and well-being of children to decide if education insti- livelihoods needs to be restored. The
is admirable, it’s becoming increas- tutions have implemented national interest demands no more
ingly clear that while their lives have Covid safeguards time is lost in restarting India’s long
been substantially protected, chil- shuttered schools.

50 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2021