Schools in India have been closed for more than four months since the Covid-19 lockdown was announced in March. Many schools have started online sessions for children to ensure that the learning does not stop. According to the latest media reports, the Centre is considering reopening schools from September 1 as part of its final unlocking rules, starting with classes 10-12 initially, followed byclasses 6-9 after 15 days.

LocalCircles, a community social media platform, conducted a survey to get the collective parent pulse on how they feel about the reopening of schools from September 1. The survey received over 25,000 responses from parents and grandparents in different parts of India.

Parents were asked if they approve of the reported Government plan to restart schools from September 1. In response, 58 per cent said ‘no’, while only 33 per cent said ‘yes’.

They were also asked for the reason for opposing restarting of schools.

In response, 13 per cent said they cannot afford to take chances with children, given the risk and unknown elements related to Covid-19. About 1 per cent said there is a serious risk with seniors in the family in case a child gets infected.

Some 9 per cent of the respondents said social distancing would not be possible in schools. About 5 per cent said Covid-19 spread would increase even faster if schools were opened, and 2 per cent said they believe online education is a good substitute, given the situation.

The survey also revealed that 47 per cent of the parents believe that all of the above were valid reasons.

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