Parents Not In Favour Of Sending Children To Schools If They Reopen, Says Survey

The lockdown following the dreadful pandemic affected students mentally, physically, and socially in a drastic way. Most schools across the country went into online teaching in March 2020. While some sections of the society adopted it, others lagged due to the widespread digital divide. As states are contemplating reopening schools as COVID-19 cases seem to decline, a survey conducted by an online platform, Local Circles, has found out that around 48 percent of parents are unwilling to send their wards to schools until they get vaccinated against the virus.

What Does The Survey Say?

To collate data, the survey included over 32,000 parents across 361 districts in the country. To achieve universal representation, 47 percent of the respondents of the survey were from tier 1 districts, 27 percent from tier 2, and 26 percent respondents were from tier 3, 4, and rural districts.

The survey found out that more than 30 percent of parents are willing to send their children to schools provided that coronavirus cases in their districts come down to zero.

"Vaccinating children in the coming months is going to be key if children are to go to schools for physical classes. Forty-eight percent of the surveyed parents said they are not willing to send their children to schools till they are vaccinated. At least 21 percent of parents said whenever the schools reopen, they are ready to send their wards there," the survey said.

Governments On Reopening Of Schools

On Tuesday (July 27), Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told BJP MPs that COVID-19 vaccination for children would soon commence. The fourth nationwide serosurvey mentioned that 57% of children aged 6 to 9 have got antibodies, which has led some experts to suggest that schools can safely be reopened.

States including Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh have already reopened schools and some are planning on similar lines. On Wednesday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia took to Twitter to ask parents, students, teachers, and other people associated with school education for their opinion on reopening schools in the state.

Also Read- Why Are Children Shifting From Private To Government Schools In Andhra Pradesh?

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