84% Parents Agree To Send Their Kids To Offline Schools In Maharashtra

In a recent survey conducted by the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), around 84 per cent of parents from across Maharashtra are in favour of sending their children to offline schools.

The online survey can be taken by parents and teachers from across the state until July 12 at 11:55 pm on the link.

Director of SCERT Dinkar Temkar explained that since the state government has directed to reopen schools for classes eight to 12 offline, they decided to conduct a survey to find out if parents are with the decision.

Speaking of the survey, Temkar said that as per the recent government resolution (GR) the Maharashtra government has issued directives to reopen schools for “classes eight to 12 in offline mode where COVID-19 cases are negligible”.

“Schools are directed to take all necessary precautions for the reopening like sanitisation, mask and social distancing.” He added that schools are also advised to call students to class alternatives so that not more than 20 students are present in the classroom at one time,” he added.

As yet, 2,25,194 parents have participated in the survey and more can participate till July 12 late evening. Moreover, among the  2,25,194 parents who participated, which is 52.84 per cent of the total, 1,18,182 parents hail from rural parts of the state.

“Out of 2,25,194 parents who participated, 23,948, that is 10.63 per cent, were from suburban parts of the state and 83,064, that is 36.89 per cent of parents are from cities across Maharashtra,” said Temkar.

Amid a decline in fresh COVID-19 cases in the country, the Maharashtra government has decided to resume offline schools in areas where not even a single case of COVID-19 has been reported in the last month from July 15 onwards. However, the local authorities have been instructed to go forward with the decision only if parents give their consent.

Meanwhile, schools have also been advised to monitor symptoms of COVID-19 in the students and if anyone shows symptoms, they need to be immediately moved to the nearby hospital.

As per education experts, the decision to start offline classes will help students from rural parts who are majorly losing their learning time compared to those students who are residing in urban areas. Due to the unavailability of internet connectivity, they face multiple issues during online education.