Challenges of returning to classrooms

Assam Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has dropped a hint that schools and colleges may reopen from September 1, provided the COVID-19 pandemic situationis brought under control by August. The rationale behind the State Government exploring the possibilities to reopen the educational institutions lies in its correct assessment that a large section of students belonging to lower income groups and below poverty line households have remained deprived from online classes. The government needs to keep in mind that any move to reopen the schools and colleges without restoration of the public transport system will deprive many of these students from offline classes too. Many of these households have suffered income losses due to pandemic situation and ravaging waves of floods. They are still staring at an uncertain future. Paying the money to their children for travelling by public buses and other modes of transport to attend classes will be beyond the means of many households till they are able get on their feet. The State Government subsidising the ridesin public transport to educational institutions and back home will ensure that the students from these underprivileged households do not have to skip classes for the inability of their parents to pay the money for their travel by public transport or school buses. The Education department needs to coordinate with the transport department to create an enabling environment such as issuing bus passes free of cost. Distribution of such passes can be done through the respective educational institutions so that the students are free from all the financial worries and can attend the classes from day one once the classes reopen. Every single day prior to actual opening of the schools and colleges can be used to work out the mechanism. Reimbursement of subsidy amount to the owners of public transport against free passes and rides for the students will have to be fast and hassle free. The students dependent on public transport system to attend classes will also have to be reached out and sensitised on protecting themselves by strict maintenance of physical distance, wearing of facemask and hand washing. The State government should also ensure that facemasks, hand sanitisers are available free of cost for those students whose parents cannot afford to buy them. Contributions by NGOs, student bodies, elected representatives will also ensure none of the underprivileged students are vulnerable to any virus infection for want of resources to procure the recommended safety gears. Special attention will also be needed for the students traveling by school buses or private family vehicles or bicycles. The issues of students who have to stay in rented houses in towns or in Guwahati city study in the educational institution of their choice due to non-availability of adequate hostel facilities will also require special attention. Roping in the owners of rented houses during the public consultation will help the government identify the challenges. A policy decision to subsidise the cost of food and accommodation of those students whose parents have suffered loss of income due to pandemic will go a long way in ensuring that no student has to drop out due to financial hardship. The State government also cannot ignore the reality that many of the parents who have suffered income losses due to the pandemic are unable to pay fees of their children studying in private schools or colleges.

Reopening of the educational institutions will require meticulous planning to protect the students from being infected by the virus. Mapping of the educational institutions for availability of water and hygiene management will help identification of the challenges before the Health and Education Departments in ensuring protection of the students from infections. Wide public consultation with educationists, public health specialists, parents, student bodies, elected representatives, women's bodies, Anganwadi workers, and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), non-government organisations will help both the departments to enrich their ideas with pragmatic and implementable suggestions. The consultation process will also help build up the trust and can become an effective channel of communication for the Health Department to sensitise the students and parents and other sections of the society as to how they can play their part in ensuring the educational institutions to remain free from COVID-19 risk. The students will carry back home the knowledge of keeping the public places protected from spread of the COVID infections. This, in turn, will raise the level of awareness in the society and will strengthen the fight against corona virus. Lessons learnt to work out mechanism to curb spread of infection in public places will come handy while drawing up the plan to reopen the educational institutions. Creating an enabling environment for every single student to attend the classes after the schools and colleges are reopened will be more challenging than protecting them from COVID-19 infection.