An order has been issued by the BMC commissioner to reopen schools in Mumbai for standard I to VII from Wednesday. Elsewhere, schools in different districts had resumed on December 1 and witnessed 50-60 per cent attendance on the first day. There are around 2000 schools in Mumbai, of which almost 1900 will resume in offline mode from December 15, states the official data provided by the education department.
The department has received 40 per cent confirmation from parents for classes V to VII, for sending their children to school. The BMC education department, in its recent additional guidelines issued on December 12, states that it is mandatory to keep all schools with classes I to VII open from Monday to Saturday, excluding holidays and weekly offs.
The guidelines are for primary and secondary schools affiliated with municipal corporations of all mediums of instruction and all private granted / non-granted primary and secondary schools of all managements and mediums within the limits of BMC.
The additional guidelines further state, “it is up to parents to decide whether to send their children/ ward to school. It is necessary to obtain a consent letter from parents before allowing students to attend the school.”
“Schools in Mumbai are prepared to reopen. However, 40 schools have been converted into Covid/vaccination centres. Students in such institutions will be shifted to nearby schools in the ward,” said the education department official.Many private schools in the city are planning to reopen gradually in a phased manner.
“In the wake of the rising threat of Omicron, we have decided not to resume physical classes for classes I-VII, right now. Considering the sensitive issue of the safety of students, faculty, coordinators and non-teaching staff, we have decided to postpone the reopening of the schools as adhering to guidelines is difficult for younger children. Also, the parents have been showing their concern due to the sudden rise of Omicron cases in the state. We will monitor the situation for a little while and then consider the resumption of offline classes for lower grades accordingly,” said Pooja Anjanikar, principal of Orchids- The International School, Vashi.
Supervisor of the St Joseph School, Dombivli, Sripriya Gururaj, said, “Based on the consent form, a decision will be taken to reopen classes for grades I-IV; but we are resuming classes V-VII soon.”
While the schools are set to reopen for classes I-VII from Wednesday, school buses will not be available. The School Bus Owners Association (SBOA) has decided not to introduce buses as neither the schools nor the government are insisting on starting the services.
According to the bus operators, starting the services now would be futile with the Christmas vacations coming up shortly. Additionally, with the number of Omicron cases rising in Mumbai and its metropolitan region, they fear that new Covid-19 rules may be put in place.
According to SBOA president Anil Garg, a parents-teachers association (PTA) meeting is to be held on Wednesday, where running of buses, fees and other issues shall be discussed. The SBOA claims that the government has done little with regards to reducing various taxes.
