School closure for 2 yrs has led to a huge learning gap: Aiyar

New Delhi: Covid multiple waves has impacted almost every body may it be business sector, or education sector or any other sector. Too much gap led by schools being closed for long has made parents think and mull over it. Continuous closure has not only hampered the learning of children but also has resulted negatively as per children mental and emotional health. In view of this, a delegation of parents of Delhi's children led by policy experts Dr Chandrakant Lahariya and Yamini Aiyar on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

The memorandum was signed by more than 1600 parents seeking reopening of schools. The delegation had a fruitful discussion with Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. To bridge the learning gap of students and to ensure their social, emotional and mental well-being, it has become imperative to open schools.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that online education can never replace offline studies. "In the past two years, school children's lives have been confined to their rooms. Instead of going to schools and spending time in playgrounds, all their activities now take place only on mobile phones. The pandemic-induced school closures have not only affected their studies but also mental health. During COVID, our priority was children's safety. But since various researches have now found that COVID is not so harmful for kids, it is important to reopen the schools, as now is the time for exams and related preparations," he added. The Education Minister further said that schools are being reopened in several countries and even many Indian states. On this basis, Delhi Government will recommend reopening of schools in the DDMA meeting scheduled on January 27.

Manish Sisodia said that while the COVID cases and positivity rate are on the decline in Delhi, it would not be suitable to keep children away from schools. Hence, the Kejriwal Government will request in the DDMA meeting that it be allowed to reopen schools while following all COVID protocols. With children returning to schools, not only will the schools witness a buzz but it will also indicate lives coming back on track.

The Deputy CM further tweeted, "I agree with the parents' demands. We closed school when it was not safe for children but excessive caution is now harming our children. A generation of children will be left behind if we do not open our schools now."

On the occasion, Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, a member of the parents' delegation, said that according to AIIMS, ICMR, Indian Academy of Paediatrics, NITI Aayog, WHO and several other organisations, the risk associated with COVID is very less among children. He said school closures have a few advantages but its negative impact on children's learning and mental-emotional well-being was very high. Hence, reopening of schools is a crying need of the hour.

Centre for Policy Research President Yamini Aiyar said that a huge learning gap was being seen among kids because of them staying away from schools for long. Due to the pandemic, it has only widened over the past two years and keeping kids further away from schools will mean that an entire generation will move ahead with the learning gap. She further said that several researchers have found that children are even forgetting the basic mathematics and fundamental language skills. To bridge the learning gap, it is important for schools to reopen. Schools focus on overall development of children, which is not possible at home and via online education.