Delhi govt to recommend reopening of schools in DDMA meeting: Manish Sisodia

New Delhi, Jan 26: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said that the government will recommend the reopening of schools in the national capital in the DDMA meeting as it has now become necessary to prevent further damage to the social and emotional well-being of children.

Sisodia asserted that online education can never replace offline education and said that the government had shut schools when the situation was not favourable for children to come to school. However, excessive caution is now taking a toll on students.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is having a meeting on Thursday to deliberate on easing the curbs in the national capital in view of the improved situation of COVID-19.

The issue of reopening schools is also on the agenda. "In the past two years, school children's lives have been confined to their rooms. Instead of going to schools and spending time in playgrounds, all their activities now take place only on mobile phones. "The pandemic-induced school closures have not only affected their studies but also their mental health. During COVID, our priority was children's safety. But since various researches have now found that COVID is not so harmful for kids, it is important to reopen the schools, as now is the time for exams and related preparations," Sisodia said.

He claimed that schools are being reopened in several countries and even many Indian states. "On this basis, the Delhi Government will recommend reopening of schools in the DDMA meeting scheduled on January 27," he said. "While the COVID cases and positivity rate are on the decline in Delhi, it would not be suitable to keep children away from schools. With children returning to schools, not only will the schools witness a buzz but it will also indicate lives coming back on track," he said.

After being briefly reopened, schools in Delhi were again closed on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant.

On Wednesday, a delegation of parents lead by Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and public policy specialist, met Sisodia and submitted a memorandum signed by over 1,600 parents demanding that the schools be reopened. "Why we are the last among major countries to decide on this? I agree with their demands. A generation of children will be left behind if we do not open our schools now," added Sisodia. PTI