Teachers in a fix as Delhi schools gear up to reopen
All schools were asked to shut down when the pandemic hit last year, and most of them have stayed shut. With Covid-19 cases being on an all-time low, the Delhi government has allowed schools to reopen in a phased manner, from today, alongside providing a long list of SOPs. This has made parents wonder whether or not to send their children to school right away. And school teachers are in a bigger dilemma, as they need to make arrangements at home, before gearing up for work.
“I need to start hunting for a house help, who can assist my mother-inlaw in taking care of my two-year-old and help with other chores. It’s great that schools are reopening, because children were having a difficult time, but for teachers, this means more hurdles,” says Manisha Verma, a teacher from Model Town.
Neha Mathur, a teacher from
Dhaula Kuan, also sees some difficulty on the way. “We are asked to take online and offline classes together, which is tough. We ensure that students follow social distancing in school, but what about the time when they go out of the building? Last time, when schools reopened, teachers were put on duties even on the road outside the school to ensure social distancing was maintained. This becomes taxing after a day-long work shift,” she says.
The work load will certainly increase, opine teachers about having to physically go to the school. Ruchika Bagai, a teacher from Shalimar Bagh, adds, “Besides teaching, we will have to resume other duties. To follow precautions, school buses won’t ply, so if all parents come to drop off and pick up their kids in private vehicles, there will be a major traffic jam.”
Some teachers feel that parents have a huge role to play in this case. “Parents need to have discussions with their children, especially the younger ones, about being Covid-19compliant in school,” says Verma.