Nagaland: ‘Parents reluctant to send kids to school due to Covid-19’

Our Correspondent
Kohima, July 25 (EMN): With the novel coronavirus pandemic leaving a trail of destruction across the globe, the student community, like many other sections of the society, has been massively affected.

In Nagaland, many parents reportedly shared their reservations about sending children to schools (once it reopens) because of the prevailing situations, during the recent survey conducted by the department of School Education, to seek the parents’ opinion on reopening of schools.

Dr. Kevizakie Rio, the joint mission director of Samagra Shiksha, while speaking to Eastern Mirror on Saturday, informed that many parents did not wish to send their children to schools this year, although many others hoped to send their kids to school by January next year.

He added that there are also other parents who are not willing to send their children to schools because of risk factors involved in attending classes during the pandemic.

This group of parents preferred their children getting home tuitions and home studies rather than letting them go to school till the “vaccine (for Covid-19) is discovered,” he shared.

Rio also stated that the parents were of the opinion that the lives of their kids are more important.

He said that parents were primarily concerned about the students in lower classes, especially from primary to Class VI, as they ‘would not be able to adhere strictly to the basic protocols like social distancing’. They expressed fear that the children might forget about health issues once they mingle with their peer groups in schools, he added.

Accordingly, some parents had suggested that if at all schools should be reopened, it should be the secondary and higher secondary levels initially, that too in phase-wise manner ‘so that even the classes in the lower sections can be opened in due course of time’.

As such, the parents had sought the help of the central government to provide certain guidelines to the state so that schools can be opened only next year, the officer informed.

Meanwhile, he stated that although many private schools are doing well in online tutorials, many government schools are not able to provide such facility, especially in far-flung areas due to poor internet connectivity.

Rio shared that the lack of proper internet connectivity has become the main concern for many parents whose children study in government schools as the only means of education is through online at the present.

“Because of the network problem, many of them (students) are not getting opportunities,” the officer said.

However, he informed that most of the private schools, especially those located at district headquarters like Dimapur, have good facilities through which classes are conducted on WhatsApp and other online platforms.

Rio informed that the School Education department is also waiting for the central government to give a viable date because ten days ago, the ministry of Human Resource Development had held a video conference with all the states.

According to him, Shanavas C, the principal director of School Education, who attended the virtual conferencing, had informed the Centre that by September, the state might be probably ready to reopen the schools in phase wise manner as per the suggestions put in through during the survey.

However, Rio informed that the schools would be reopened only if the Covid-19 situation improves in the state.