Parents, schools demand 100% offline classes, routine school hours

Mumbai: Many schools in the city have not yet resumed and are still operating online, although schools are allowed to return to offline mode. Covid cases have steadily decreased, and parents have been appealing to the government to take a firm decision on only offline schooling.

The BMC Education department has filed the circular regarding offline schooling to the BMC Department for approval. "The decision is being reviewed, and a constructive conclusion will be made in one or two days," stated a BMC department official.

"There is no hold on the decision we're examining it, and waiting for approval," he added.

Schools across the city are asking for a return to normalcy and prefer classrooms over hybrid schooling. Mr. Vinod Kulkarni, Chairman of Meridian School, Mumbai, and a Gen. Secretary of Maharashtra English School Trustee Association (MESTA) said, "Going completely offline is the only viable option. Children have been losing their routines for the past two years. They are also engaging in fewer academic and physical pursuits. Two years is a huge gap that no one can readily replace. As a result, we all want, including the parents that schools should resume 100 percent offline with full time."

"However, one issue presently is seating capacity. We need to focus on changing SOPs because students in one class are unable to sit on a separate bench. School bus transportation is a major issue that we all are facing in the city, " he added.

Parents, too, are eager for their children to return to normalcy and are speaking out for the allowance of complete offline schooling with extended school hours. Radhika Sen, a parent from Mumbai said, "We parents are only going around in circles trying to get approvals for normalcy. Why has authority not cleared the 100% offline schools order when they are busy with rallies and expecting a hoard of people to vote and stand in crowded areas? We parents demand justice with going back to 100% offline schools now."

Another parent, Bharti Kulkarni from Mumbai who had a similar viewpoint said, "When we know that the whole city is back to normal why is it that children are yet suffering the trauma of this pandemic! What will it take to be heard from the workforce of Mumbai, who are parents, and need children to go to 100% offline school along with bus facilities."