Schools to reopen in Andhra Pradesh from Monday – is it the safest decision?

Even as the threat of Coronavirus has not subsided even the slightest in India, one state is getting ready to reopen schools from July 13th. The government of Andhra Pradesh has officially announced that all schools in the state will start to function from July 13th once again, beginning the new academic year.

Classes will be conducted once in a week for Primary School students, and twice a week for upper primary and higher secondary students. Bridge courses have also been designed for students of all classes, so that they are engaged when there are no classes. The bridge courses will be conducted with the help of technological and other means .

All the Headmasters/Principals and teachers have been instructed to update the registration of all the students on or before July 10th. The bridge course material has already been distributed to the students belonging to the primary section, and the bridge course material for upper primary and higher secondary schools will be made available both online and offline.

It has also been announced that students will be given project works based on the syllabus they studied in the previous academic year. Each teacher is expected to coordinate closely with 10-20 students, making sure that they are completing their project works. It is also the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that every piece of information is passed on to everyone and to make sure that those who have no access to online platforms also complete the work on time.

On the other hand, the Union Human Resource ministry previously said that all the schools would reopen only after August 15th. Even the state of Andhra Pradesh was expected to reopen schools on August 3rd, but for some unknown reasons, the state advanced the date of reopening schools.

For the government of Andhra Pradesh to reopen schools on July 13th despite the worsening of Coronavirus in the state and in the country is quite a huge risk. Even with all sorts of precautions and safety measures in place, it is not the best idea to reopen schools this early. Everyone is wondering why the government is taking such a huge risk at this point of time. The government has to reconsider its options and avoid bringing children to schools.