After Paray Sikshalay, full school reopening on Bengal govt radar – Times of India

KOLKATA: CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday indicated that Bengal would consult with school authorities on whether 50% primary and upper primary students can return to school campus on any given day.
The CM, however, made it clear this will be done only when the “Covid situation is not problematic” and the state gauges the impact of any possibility of a fresh Covid variant.
Speaking at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, the CM said: “Schools and colleges have opened. Classes V to VII are attending the Paray Sikshalay schools. For young ones, we will wait and see for a few more days (before deciding on reopening). We will speak to school authorities if 50% of students can return to school. Say half of the (class) students go to school on Monday, others will go on Tuesday.”
The CM did not commit a timeframe, saying it will depend on the Covid situation.
The CM’s statement comes in wake of the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) that showed that the two-year-long shutdown of schools has led to huge learning gaps among primary school students. The findings prompted Nobel Laureate Abhijit Binayak Banerjee to call for opening of schools at all levels in the state. He reasoned students needed to return to classrooms to stem the decline in the quality of basic education in state-board schools.
Apurba Ghosh, senior paediatrician and director Institute of Child Health (ICH), said: “Children have suffered a lot due to closure of schools, and younger kids in particular whose developmental issues have been hit hard. A school is not only about academic studies but also about all-round development, development of interactive and social skills. There is no better option than physical schools and hence we should make these children go back to school soon.”
Mihir Sarkar, professor of paediatrics at Medical College Hospital Kolkata, added: “Even as children are also getting infected, in majority of cases the disease has been mild and mortality very low. In fact, about 60% to 70% children who needed hospitalisation had various comorbidities. Even as the concern that children are unvaccinated remains, all we need to ensure is that the children adhere to Covid-appropriate behaviour.”
The West Bengal Academy of paediatrics (WBAP), in a letter to the Bengal CM on January 31, cited clinical data showing less than 3% of children were getting severe disease and urged the CM to reopen schools. The letter also cited studies showing transmission within school settings being typically lower or at least similar to the level of community transmission when preventive strategies are in place.
Father Rodney Borneo, principal of St Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar, said: “Students of nursery schools have already started coming back to my school under the Paray Sikshalay. Parents have reported an immediate improvement in the children’s emotional, intellectual and psychological wellbeing as compared to when they were doing classes online.”
Rammohan Mission School principal Sujay Biswas added: “I welcome the statement. Students of all ages are extremely willing to come to school and see people their age. Parents are also very eager to send kids to school. ”