Reopen schools or disaster looms, experts tell Indian authorities

NEW DELHI — Many top Indian epidemiologists and social scientists are urging authorities to reopen in-person school classes for all age groups, saying the benefits outweigh the risks especially as poor rural children are missing out on online education.

The recommendation comes as experts say another coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) wave in India this year could be far less deadly, because a dramatic rise in cases in April and May means a big majority of the population have been infected already, while more than half of its adults have been at least partly vaccinated.

India last month approved its first COVID-19 shot for people under 18, though as of now only adults are being immunized.

As new infections have stabilized around 40,000 a day in the past few weeks, some Indian states have restarted face-to-face teaching, mainly for middle school and above. Experts say that is not enough.

“Schools are an essential service. It has been wisely said that they should be the last to close and the first to reopen,” said a report released on Monday on school education by a group of scholars, including economist and social scientist Jean Dreze, that warned of a “looming disaster.”

“In India, the opposite has been happening: soon after the COVID-19 crisis struck in early 2020, all schools were closed without batting an eyelid and most of them are still closed today.”

The health and education ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The federal government has largely left it to states to decide when to reopen schools. —