Time to let children go to school
By: Apoorv Shah
Tags: Education, Schools, Covid, Children, India

Schools in most parts of India have been shut since March now. There are a few states which have partially opened schools for some grades. Some have already gone back on that partial opening. For most children, it been more than six months since they stepped into a school.

A extremely small percentage of privileged students currently have access to a teacher through online teaching. Multiple government bodies have made varying levels of attempts to reach all students. Teachers all across the spectrum have tried to learn how to teach online.

It is a fact that this year is going to be a massive learning loss for most of our children if not all. Like everything else, this loss hits the most vulnerable groups the most. So economically weaker sections of the society, rural areas, and females have disproportionately affected by this learning loss.

What all has happened since March?

The virus has continued to spread and hence has affected a higher number of citizens in India. Close to 9 crore people have tested positive for Covid-19 according to official sources.

From Jun 8th onwards, government has announced Unlock 1.0 to Unlock 5.0. Through these announcements, the country has been opened up in a phased manner. Right now, all offices (private and government), parks, businesses, malls, theaters, gyms etc have been allowed to open as long as they follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that are issued.

The only major ‘industry’ that is currently closed is education.

Currently the three things that the government is asking all citizens to do are 1) weak a mask 2) wash their hands frequently 3) maintain social distance.

The fear among everyone is that schools would become hotspots for Covid-19 spread if we open them now. It is not an unreasonable fear to have.

I would argue that the question to think about is not whether there is risk in sending children to school but to ask ourselves if there is any increase in risk that children face if schools are opened.

I believe there is no or marginal increase in risk if children go to schools now. I also believe that we can reduce the risk even further if we take the necessary steps.

India’s context plays a major role in my belief.

A very small percentage of Indians have the inclination or resources to find a nanny to take care of their child at home while they go to work. Percentage of parents who stay at home for most parts of the day are few.

We have seen spikes in the number of cases after every festival. The reason for it is that families are travelling to meet other families during Holi, Rakshabandhan, Eid, Diwali etc. So we know that people are not staying at home during social events.

Parks, restaurants, hotels have all been opened now. Combine this with the pent up anxiety of staying at home has meant that families are travelling outside their city as well. This can be easily seen when you check the usual travel spots around your city.

Internet penetration in India is low and learning online is not really accessible for everyone. [1]Combine this with tuition classes being open and you can see students travelling to classes to ensure that they continue their education.

As you can see, children in India are already at risk without the schools being open.

The next question is, will this risk increase if schools open?

The short answer is yes.

Opening schools would add to the current amount of travelling that students are doing so it would increase the number of people they interact with daily and that would increase the probability of them contracting the virus. Population density in schools are on an average higher than their current reality.

It is important to note that while transmission of the virus might not be impacted by age of the person, death rates for younger people (below 14) are multiple times lower than death rates for older people. Children also have lower levels of pre-existing conditions than older people which makes them even less likely to die because of covid-19. [2]

It shows that even though likelihood of contracting the virus might increase with the opening of schools but the likelihood of dying because is still really low. I understand the death is not the only thing to worry about with covid-19 and so we should try and reduce the chances of contracting the virus as well.

Can we take steps to decrease the chances of even contracting the virus?

If congestion in classrooms is a challenge, we can call students in batches or shifts depending on the infrastructure available in schools. We can shorten the school day for now. We can use community halls near schools to conduct classes. We can find alternatives for children with pre-existing conditions. We can extend the academic year. Various state governments and schools have already started experimenting with this.

What if these steps are not enough, is opening schools worth the possible increase in risk?

YES!

There are three big reasons for it.

| Economic

A World Bank research paper published earlier this year suggests that with schools shut, South Asian children of 2020 will be poorer by an average $5,813 by the time they wrap up work life. They will earn $319 less per year, costing the region over $800 billion over time. India will bear more than half of that loss. [2]

India is a country where absolute poverty would increase by millions because of the pandemic. [5] If the current economic condition deteriorates and future economic prosperity takes a hit, it will significantly increase a life of extreme poverty for our children.

Schools do not operate in silos. There are parallel economies that run alongside it. From the auto/van driver who takes students to school to the samosa seller right outside school to stationery and uniform shops, have seen their incomes take a massive hit. Private schools have been forced to let go of teachers because fees from students have stopped coming or have reduced dramatically.

| Access to Learning

For most students in India, schools are still the only major place for learning academics. All learning is not academics but it is definitely an important aspect to focus on especially if you are from a economically or socially disadvantaged background. Parents and community support helps with learning but it is also a privilege that very few of our students have access to on a continuous basis.

The achievement gap that exists in our society is an access and quality gap at the input level. The pandemic and school closure only amplifies that gap. Students who were trying to bridge the gap had a mountain to climb even before the pandemic but every single day of school closure is making it harder to climb that mountain.

| Social

For a lot of our students, school is one of the only places where they can be themselves, make friends, explore their likes and dislikes, and spend time away from the control of family. It is their ‘me’ time.

Social benefits of being able to talk to and meet your friends in school cannot be quantified. It helps a lot of our children create a support system. It gives them a chance to express themselves. It gives them a chance to learn from peers on how to do things and behave in different situations.

School closure takes it all away and the pandemic makes it difficult to access it even if other circumstances might allow for it.

In conclusion, my personal belief is that opening schools have more merits than demerits for our country and its children. I would not like to force any child to come to school but I would like for them and their parents to have an option.

As a society, our protective instincts are stronger when it comes to children and for good reason. No one wants to willingly put our children in danger. Sometimes the things we do to protect our children cause more harm than the thing we are protecting them from. I also don’t think that the government should decide whether or not it is alright to open all schools unless it can do something to mitigate the challenges that closing down schools brings.

Only caveat I want to end with is that my views presented above do not take into consideration all realities that our children face and yes, my answer would be different for different circumstances. The above views take into account children at an average and hence the argument for choice.

Here’s hoping that we are able to do justice to ALL our children both right now and in the future.