Delhi School Reopening: DDMA to decide on offline classes in meeting tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will meet tomorrow to discuss further relaxations in COVID-19 curbs, including reopening of schools, in view of the declining cases in the state.

The DDMA meeting is scheduled to be held on February 4 to review the COVID-19 situation in the national capital and take a call on reopening schools and other relaxations, a senior Delhi government official said on February 3.

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In the last DDMA meeting, the Delhi government had recommended reopening of schools saying it was necessary to prevent further damage to the social and economic well-being of children as the COVID-19 situation in the capital had improved.

Asserting that online education can never replace classroom studies, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said the government had closed schools when it was not safe for children, but "excessive caution" was harming them.

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A delegation of parents led by Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and public policy specialist, had earlier met Sisodia and submitted a memorandum signed by over 1,600 parents demanding that schools be reopened.

Schools in the city were briefly reopened before being closed again on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant.

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School principals and parents' associations were left disappointed with DDMA's decision in last meeting on January 27 to not reopen schools in Delhi, saying keeping schools closed is no longer a solution. All India Parents Association (AIPA) president Ashok Agarwal said it is a very sad move, and decision-makers have neither heart nor mind as the prolonged closures will promote and perpetuate class divide and inequality in education.

(with inputs from PTI)