The Unlock 5.0 guidelines announced on September 30 have left it to the States and Union territories to decide on the graded opening of schools from October 15. But tripura already open schools with 50% teachers attendance from monday. Many schools are testing the mood of parents and students . School managements have stated that instead of investing in infrastructure for a post-covid school, they want to determine if parents are willing to send their wards to school, and what the strength of each class is likely to be. Earlier, when schools received a directive to open up in a phased manner on September 21, 97 per cent of parents were not ready to send their children to school. Sabitri sarkar, a parent said, “Unlock 5.0 doesn’t mean that the virus is gone. Are the schools ready with the covid-infrastructure? How do they plan to ensure social distancing? Additionally, wearing a mask throughout the school duration is not advisable. The schools must have a plan and only then can we feel safe to send our children back to school.” Another parent Manju Dhar said, “In March, when there were barely a few hundred cases in the State, schools were shut and exams cancelled. Now, with the cases sky-rocketing, how can we open schools?” Now we have to wait for the final scenario but can must say that covid not over yet.
