‘Schools ready to bridge learning gaps’

NEW DELHI: A day after the Delhi government issued guidelines for the partial reopening of schools in the Capital, education minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday met the heads of several government schools and said that the schools are not only ready to bridge the learning gaps but also the emotional well-being of students when they return.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Sunday allowed students of classes 10, 11 and 12 to visit school for admissions and board exam-related work.

Schools and colleges in the national capital have been closed since March last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Classes briefly resumed in a staggered manner between January and February before being suspended again due to the fourth wave of the pandemic in the Capital.

While interacting with the principals of government schools in south-east Delhi district, Sisodia said, “The cases of Covid in Delhi have now been controlled to a great extent. During the special PTM, most of the parents agreed that schools should reopen because, in the last 1.5 years, there has been a lot of damage to the education of children. We have to bridge the loss of learning as well as cater to the mental and socio-emotional well-being of children. Our children and teachers have gone through a harrowing phase of Covid, we need to get them out of that phase.”

“It is heartening to see that the heads of schools are ready to not only bridge the learning gap when schools open but also cater to social-emotional wellbeing when children return to school,” he said, directing the school heads to strictly follow the Covid appropriate guidelines.

The education minister also sought suggestions from heads of schools regarding the reopening. Some principals suggesting measures to “reunite students with teaching-learning process again” during the first week, and few also recommended arranging professional counsellors for students.

According to a statement issued by the government on Tuesday, the principals of government schools in the district were given a three-day training ahead of the reopening of schools. “Training is also being given on how to reduce the learning gap of the children once schools reopen and reconnect them with learning,” the statement read.