Hyderabad: Parents are telling private school managements, teachers and principals that they will not be sending their children to school from September 1, for fear of Covid-19. Parents want schools to continue with online classes.
Private schools that have carried out online surveys state that out of 100 parents only two have given consent to sending their kids to school. The schools wanted the government to not make attendance in schools compulsory.
D. Vijay Kumar, founder-director of Indus Universal School, said parents were worried about the strict implementation of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour in schools.
“Since the virus is airborne what is to be done and who will do it? Do schools carry out anti-virus fogging two to three times a day? Is it possible? Who will bear the cost? There are multiple issues which need to be addressed. Also, the fear of infection in children is high,” Vijay Kumar said.
Private school managements said some parents were threatening to take a 'drop year' especially for children in the primary section.
Neena Aggarwal, a parent in Begumpet, said, "I have been told to drop and pick up my child every day at school. How is it possible, as the school is 10 km from my home? My child is in class 4 and I have told the teacher that I cannot send the child to school.”
Parents who are struggling to pay the fees and have pending dues with the school are not willing to spend on daily transport as it adds to their cost.
A private school principal said about 20 per cent of parents had approached him at the beginning of the academic year stating that had lost a family member to Covid-19.
“They are not able to afford transport and want online classes to continue. There are those whose businesses are down, and are settling school dues in instalments. They too state that they cannot afford the transport costs. These challenges are not being addressed," the principal said.
