Ludhiana: Parents reluctant to send wards to school
Parents of govt school students are apprehensive about the safety of their wards as Covid cases are still being reported
Even though the government schools in the city are all set to reopen for offline classes from July 28, parents of 70% of the students of Classes 10 to 12 are not yet ready to send them to school.
The parents expressed their reluctance during the parent-teacher meetings organised by the government schools on Monday.
The principals stated that many parents are not ready to send their children to school, fearing that their wards may catch the infection as none of them are vaccinated.
Parents said that during the second Covid wave, many people lost their near and dear ones, and the third wave is expected in September, so they want their children to attend classes online from the safety of their homes.
During the PTMs, parents reached schools with their wards during the time slots allotted to them. At many government schools, only those who were wearing masks were given entry.
In the meeting, school teachers informed the parents about the performance of their children in the tests that were held in July, and their preparation for the National Achievement Survey. Many teachers said that a majority of the students had started working amid the Covid-19 pandemic to support their families financially and now are unwilling to attend offline classes.
Navdeep Romana, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Multipurpose, said, “We had asked the parents to submit written consent for offline classes. Only 40% of them have shown willingness to send their children to attend the same. We have also asked the parents to ensure that their wards wear masks and attend the classes as per the schedule sent to them by their respective class teachers.”
At Government Senior Secondary School, Gill (Girls), only 50% of parents turned up to attend the PTM on Monday.
Smriti Bhargav, the principal, said, “Parents are reluctant to send their wards to school. Many of them have refused to sign the consent form. During the parent-teacher meeting, I informed the parents that we are taking all safety precautions in the school and that the students should be motivated to revise concepts daily to improve their performance in the upcoming exams.”