Make schools safer for our children

Thanks to Covid followed by lockdown, education in India has been turned into "non-essential" in the name of keeping the young children and college going students safe from the novel coronavirus even though experts have been very clear the novel virus rarely affects the healthy children and youngsters studying in college or working.

Obviously the political class in India (ruling and opposition) parties does not even want to discuss on how to re-open the educational institutions. In India opposition parties are keeping mum and parents (mainly well off) instead of asking the government when they plan to re-open educational institutions, are speaking against opening the schools and colleges. No wonder, the government in a half baked manner directed the educational institutions to conduct online classes from KG to Class 12 and beyond. What a novel way using the virus to keep education shut.

While poor parents whose children have neither textbooks or facilities to connect their children to online classes have no voice, and on the other hand, well off parents have become so self centered to safeguard only their children against entering at present unsafe educational institutions. It is sad that some parents want the educational institutions shut until the country turn zero corona case or a vaccine is found.

The parents have failed to realise Coronavirus is here to stay, vaccine or otherwise and we have been told to learn to live with virus. It is therefore important we have to teach the children and advise the youngsters to follow preventive measures (hand wash, physical distancing and wearing mask) and as for as possible keep away from "large" public gatherings in the coming years. The parents should take all measure to enhance immunity of both young children, teenagers and young adults which would help them to fight corona or that matter any other virus.

Developing the immunity by all, is best mantra instead of depending on the government and political leaders who can only use the novel virus to create divide among us. Over the years government has been claiming huge allocation of funds for education. The parents should demand that the government to come forward to use the crisis as an opportunity to transform the schools and other educational institutions to make them safe for them to return to temples of learning. Yes, we all will have apprehension whether it would be safe to re-open and for this to happen the government has to bring in more human beings to make these temple of learning safe and cut down all wasteful expense on vanity affairs.

N Nagarajan, Hyderabad