Following the reports that parents are raising concern over sending their children to schools after reopening, the Central Government has shot up a letter to Education Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories seeking feedback about the same till 20 July 2020.
In a letter issued to all the States and Union Territories signed by Under Secretary to the Government of India Rajesh Sam play, it is requested to furnish feedback of the parents of school-going children on the basis of three given points.
As per the points mentioned in the letter, it is told to ascertain by what time the parents will feel comfortable with the reopening of schools, what are their expectations from the schools as and when they reopen and if there is anything else they really want to know or brought to the notice of the government before reopening.
The government wants the state and union territories to furnish the feedback by 20th July so to help it to decide the schedule of reopening of schools in all the states and union territories where there are closed since the outbreak of coronavirus.
However, the school’s management in the state finds fault with the government’s move to elicit feedback from the parents with just three days of time to reciprocate.
“The letter was issued on 17th July asking the Education Secretaries of all the States and UTs to furnish the feedback by 20th July which is not at all possible. How the parents of the labor category and those not completely well versed with the computers can furnish their opinion to the government through emails?” inquire Yadagiri Shekar Rao, President Telangana Recognised Schools Management Association (TRSMA).
There are, he said, 33 crore students pursuing studies in schools, colleges, and universities. With an overall illiteracy rate of 74.4%, eliciting the opinion of parents is a gigantic task, and doing so over the night is not at all possible.
Explaining that in a country where only 31.1% of parents come under the ambit of literacy while the remaining 68.9% comes under the labor category, he said, “it is completely surrealistic of expecting a comprehensive report from the States and UTs with just three days of time.”
We welcome the move initiated by the government to elicit the opinion of parents before reopening the schools but going with the way it is being done appears completely a move with a cosmetic sincerity, he asserted
Suggesting the government to provide at least 15 days of time to get the feedback from grass root level and from remote areas, Shekar Rao said, “Media should also be involved in the process to educate parents about the move initiated by the government as the issue deals with the future of their children.”
Terming the government’s move completely impracticable, Advocate Akther Shareef, State President Telangana Private Schools Forum, (TPSF) said, “The move is completely frivolous as only the parents have been asked to furnish their opinion while ignoring the other stakeholders especially the school managements.”
