After two days of thorough analysis over the Covid-19 situation in West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court has dismissed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that had challenged the decision of the West Bengal government for the reopening of schools. Now, it is expected that the schools for Class 9 to Class 12 will resume on November 16 as per the notification issued by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education.
“Most schools in the neighbouring states like Bihar and Odisha have already reopened. Also, after the resumption of several schools and offline classes, no schools in the neighbouring states have reported a single COVID case amongst children. I believe that it is important to follow COVID protocols and also, the students are required to attend classes while maintaining the COVID guidelines. The decision to reopen the schools is a little late but after the schools reopen the students will be able to follow the classes properly. We need to make sure that the teachers must follow COVID guidelines too,” NK Gautam, the Principal of DAV Public School, DVC, MTPS, Bankura, West Bengal told The Daily Guardian.
However, some of the parents are still reluctant to send their children to schools as the vaccination amongst children has not started. Sharda Mehta from Kolkata, whose son is studying in Class 9, said, “We are concerned to send our son to school as I have lost some of my close relatives to COVID. Although I see no dedication amongst children regarding studies and the long-term school closure has a negative impact on the psychology of children, we can’t compromise on health. We know that the third wave will affect children largely so I would prefer that my son go to school only after vaccination.”
Expecting that the schools will maintain COVID protocols, advocate Praloy Bhattacharjee, a Senior Counsel, Kolkata High Court, stated, “In my opinion, the High Court has the knowledge of the present situation in Kolkata. Also, it is the right decision, only if the schools are able to maintain COVID protocols and follow guidelines.”