Schools reopen in Goa; Shiv Sena opposes consent forms for parents

Panaji: The Shiv Sena on Monday opposed the management of schools in Goa seeking written consent from parents for sending their children for classroom teaching. Schools began in offline mode across the state on Monday after a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the management of several institutions asked parents to fill out consent forms which made it clear that students were attending class at their own risk.

"It is the schools' responsibility to take care of students within the campus. Making parents sign such consent forms raises concerns. I'm sure the state education department has not issued such forms. Schools doing it themselves must stop it," said Goa Shiv Sena president Jitesh Kamat.

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Most of the schools reported good attendance in the morning, state education director Bhushan Savaikar told PTI. The educational institutions have been asked to strictly follow the standard operating procedures and COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, he said.

The schools in the coastal state had moved to the online mode after the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. On Monday, the schools resumed offline sessions for Classes 1 to 12 as well as the pre-primary ones, Sawaikar said. “There is enthusiasm among students as they are returning to physical classes after such a gap,” he said.

In the wake of a decline in COVID-19 cases in Goa, the state education department had last week issued a circular for the resumption of offline classes from Monday. The education department had also instructed schools to conduct the exams in offline mode only and not to make uniforms mandatory for students. It had also said that timing concession, if required, may be given to students in initial days.

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