School and college compounds across the country sprang into life once again as students stepped inside classrooms after 543 days of closure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic on Sunday. Relief, excitement and joy writ large on the faces of students who once more resumed classes that was so natural until Covid-19 turned their worlds upside down on March 18, 2020.
The school authorities welcomed students while strictly maintaining health safety protocols. However, a number of guardians, especially in the capital, crowded around most school gates, flouting health guidelines. Barring a few exceptions, students wearing masks, sanitised their hands at the entrances and maintained three feet distance inside classrooms. Authorities of schools split each class into batches to maintain social distancing inside classrooms. Teachers were happy to see their students back in their classrooms.
The education minister has said other than the threat of coronavirus, contracting dengue is also a concern. She recommended that students should wear full-sleeve clothes and socks while attending classes and asked authorities to be relaxed about school uniforms as many students may have outgrown them. It is also possible to collect tuition fees in installments from guardians who are facing financial constraints.
We welcome the reopening of schools at the first stage of resuming educational institutions. We want the government to reopen colleges and universities shortly. The education policymakers should design a new syllabus to adjust the academic calendar making life skills the core of learning. The post-pandemic world requires new ideas, new lifestyles and tailored learning and sharing methods for a more secure, sustainable and inclusive life. What we learnt from the pandemic — nobody is safe without securing others. Thus a new world order is necessary and the educational institutions will pave the way for that.
