"In ancient shadows and twilights
Where childhood had strayed,
The world's great sorrows were born
And its heroes were made.
In the lost boyhood of Judas
Christ was betrayed. "
- George Willam Russel
The right to education is paramount. At no point can this fact be ignored.
Our constitution has provided primary education as a fundamental right by article 21A of the constitution. Article 21A states that the education of children of the age group 6 to 14 is the responsibility of the state. Article 45 of the Constitution reiterates the provision for free and compulsory education for children until they reach the age of fourteen years.
Even the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1998 by the United Nations, proclaims in Article 26(1)
“Everyone has a right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit."
Now, why am I saying this?
We are going through a difficult time. For the last year, we are concerned about the spread of the Covid19 virus and the falling economy due to the lockdown. Rightly so. We should be concerned about the spread of the virus and the economy's free-fall affecting all of us.
But there is a more vital issue that requires our immediate attention, least it becomes too late. Too late to rectify the wrong.
Isn’t it time that we take the education of our children more seriously? Shouldn’t the schools and educational institutions be opened, albeit cautiously?
As is in individual life, so is in our society. The way we prioritize important issues in our society, especially in difficult times, will tell us how we would like to build our society for our children.
No hiding the fact that Covid19 positive cases are increasing again after a steady decline for 12 weeks. This is the first time, in 12 weeks, the ‘R’ factor is more than 1. Now, what is this ‘R’ factor? ‘R’ factor is a mathematical representation of the growth of the pandemic. When the ‘R’ factor is less than 1, the pandemic is in decline. However, if it becomes more than 1, it means that the pandemic is spreading faster. More people are getting affected than they are being cured.
Now, in a situation like this, when the pandemic is again rearing its head high, is it advisable to open the schools and educational institutions to risk the health of our children?
Prof. Reetika Khera, Department of Humanities and Social Science, IIT Delhi, seems to think so.
Recently in an interview with Karan Thapar, she very nicely and categorically states her points. She clarifies the reasons for opening the schools, especially the primary schools, even now, when the pandemic is rearing its head high. She also highlights how it can be done - what are the steps and precautions we need to take.
And her reasons, to say the least, are compelling.
Just a fortnight back, Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, and UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, in a joint statement, emphasized that the schools should be the last to close and the first to open. The statement also highlights the fact that the bars and restaurants are open while the schools are still closed.
As a matter of fact, India is only one of a few countries where the schools are closed for the longest period, 16 to 17 months, since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Two very vital issues require our immediate attention.
First, why do we need to open the schools, especially the primary schools, and second how do we go about doing that?
A pre-school or primary school-going child requires a more physical learning environment than an elder child pursuing secondary or higher secondary studies. Online and distance schooling is meaningless for a child who did not even learn her alphabets or numbers. The study materials supplied online remain ineffective for any good purpose. The damage this generation of small children is facing due to school closure for 16/17 months can perhaps, be never recovered.
If we go back to our learning days, we will remember how not practicing a learned skill can make us forget that skill fast. Try a simple arithmetic problem now that a fourth or fifth-grader does without much effort. You will be surprised that you will not be able to solve it. This is because you have lost the habit of doing similar sums regularly. The same is more true for small children, whether they learn language or sums.
Azim Premji University had done a study, in January 2021, on the possibilities of academic damage due to this prolonged closure of schools. The study states that the children might have lost 92% of their language skills and 82% of their mathematics skills due to the closure of schools. So the primary school-going children are back to where they were before they started going to school, losing precious time and learning abilities.
Also, schools are much more than just a place where only academics are taught. It is a place where the kids pick up psycho-sociological skills by interacting with their peer groups, teachers, and educators. By denying the children, the facility of interacting with their peers is by far the greatest harm we can inflict on them. A child’s education is never complete unless she learns to interact with his social environment. A growing child may not make up for this loss during her formative period.
This is more true for younger children than older children. Child development until the age of 10 has more facets than only learning to read and write. The skills the children pick up during this period of their life, while in school, can never be matched at home.
Considering Indian social conditions, children from poorer households and girl children are more to lose if they are refrained from attending school for a longer period.
This brings us to another important issue for consideration.
Most poor households do not have learning conditions at home. This is a direct contrast from most middle-class and affluent households, where children get a conducive environment for well-rounded development. Most middle-class parents know to read and write and impart some skills to their children. But for children from an underprivileged background, this is mostly absent.
Another harm the children are facing due to this prolonged closure of schools is that they are missing out on their mid-day meals. As per the supreme court order, the mid-day meals for the school-going children must continue, even during the school closure. However, the implementation of this order at the ground level is suspect. Even supplying dry ration instead of hot cooked meals is not implemented.
So, as 70% of the school-going children come from the underprivileged section of the society - both urban and rural - the harm is done to them are enormous. The harm inflicted on them are fourfold,
* Nutritional, due to lack of poor diet due to loss of regular mid-day, meals,
* Educational, due to lack of support at home, and
* Sociological, as, the children are missing out on simple skills they learn in schools, like queueing up, washing hands before taking a meal, sharing their meals with their friends, to say the least, and
* Missing out on simply having fun with their same age group.
All the facts suggest that on-line studying does not work for the poor as they might work for the rich.
* Only 4% of rural and 23% of urban households have a computer at home.
* Only 17% of rural and 42% of the urban population have internet facilities.
For most urban city dwellers like us, smartphones are common. In fact, most households have more than a few. Yet 2019 Lokniti Survey found that less than one-third of households have smartphones. Even when they have one, they have to share it with other members of the family. So the fashionable idea that smartphones will solve all the problems is not a reality.
So the idea that online education will work for the future workforce of the country is a myth. Online education, if at all, can work only for the rich and urban privileged few who are a minority at best.
Only privileged middle-class and affluent parents are outraged whenever the topic of the opening of schools is discussed. But they are the fortunate minority who could provide online education to their children. For poor, underprivileged, and marginalized parents, sending the children to school is the only way to ensure some nutrition and hope for their future.
The problem comes from the typical situation of our country where 70% of the population is neither part of the debate nor considered during the debate. It is as if they do not exist. This is evident from any TV panel discussion that we see in prime time slots.
Clearly, the grounds for opening the schools are compelling. The facts I stated above are enough to persuade any well-meaning government decision-makers to open the schools.
Yet, in the parliament, our honorable minister boasts that no child has been denied education due to the closure of schools.
The problem is more severe because we are not even ready to acknowledge the problem officially. It is a typical ostrich syndrome. The ostrich, whenever in danger, shoves its head inside the sand, hoping the problem will pass away. It thinks that since it cannot see the problem, the problem does not exist.
But a big question still looms large and begs for our attention. What of the growing pandemic situation? We are in the midst of the second wave of the pandemic. If we do not play our cards right, the third wave with the delta variant is imminent.
In a situation like this, is it advisable to open the schools as I have, and numerous other experts, suggested above?
Let us again examine a different set of facts.
It has been proved that children are less affected by the virus. Even in those cases where they have been affected, most often, it is a mild infection. There is a rumor going on that in the next wave the children, will be affected. Dr.Guleria, the AIIMS Director, clarifies otherwise. He is also categorical of the collateral damage to the children for not attending the schools due to this prolonged closure. WHO published a report that states that children are at a lower risk than adults for Coronavirus disease.
So the case for opening the primary schools ahead of secondary schools is, without doubt, compelling.
But the question is now, how would it be done? Do we allow the opening of schools indiscriminately all over the country? Or do we do it in a phased manner depending on local conditions?
This is where decentralization of decision-making should be implemented, which is a big anathema for the mandarins of the Central Government and the political bosses running the country. The most sensible thing to do in the present situation is to have each state take its own decision depending upon the local situation. There is a whole range of options that the schools may be allowed to try out to suit their local situation.
Various local gram-panchayats and other local bodies are coming up with proposals about opening schools. This is a step in the right direction.
But the concern remains. How would it be done? Would the schools open en masse, like it was before the pandemic?
There are various ways this problem can be addressed, depending upon the local conditions. Schools authorities can have different timings for different sets of students. Or can enforce alternate day attendance for different sets of students. Plenty of innovative ways the school authorities can try out to mitigate this problem. The main idea is to open the schools as soon as possible without overcrowding. It is the objective that is important. The rest is to try out different permutations and combinations to find out the best solution.
One important point, I feel, needs to be addressed here.
Understood that children might not get affected by the virus. But what about their being the carrier of the virus? They can be asymptomatic and carry the virus back, infecting the aged grandparents, the most vulnerable group, at home.
But the question, against this excuse of not opening, is this. Aren’t adults going out regularly now? Can’t they be the carrier of the virus back home?
Before I leave you with your thoughts, here are some more for you. During this long close down, what essential services have we closed? Electricity? Water supply? Buying and selling of petrol in petrol pumps? Now, even some entertainment establishments like bars, restaurants, cinema halls are open.
So why wouldn’t primary education be considered an essential service and kept open? Why do we insist on keeping our schools closed? What’s our priority? Can we afford to keep our children, the future of our country, in limbo?
Answers, my friends, are blowing in the air.