Jharkhand private school association welcomes parents' suggestion to cut syllabus for students

The Private Schools and Children Welfare Association (PSCWA) of Jharkhand has welcomed the suggestions of parents to cut short the syllabus for the academic session. Schools and education institutions across the country have been closed since the first coronavirus-induced lockdown was imposed in March this year. The state government had earlier sought opinions of parents regarding the opening of schools.

According to PSCWA, over 50 per cent parents have suggested reducing the syllabus, especially for classes looking forward to board exams. The association also said that the government should think positively towards the opening of schools for senior classes. "In the light of opinion sought by the state government, over 50 percent of parents have proposed to cut short the syllabus. Our organisation, too believes that it should be done for the standards like 9th, 10th and 12th because their study was curtailed for 6 months," PSCWA Jharkhand president Alok Dubey said.

The majority of parents have also suggested opening of schools for senior classes. The PSCWA is going to release guidelines soon and form committees in every district to monitor the situation at schools and ensure safety measures against COVID-19 are followed. "Now the government should allow the senior classes to commence at schools. We are going to release instructions for private schools and form district-level committees to ensure the following of safety norms by private schools," Dubey added. Recently, the Jharkhand unit of PSCWA held a virtual meeting with all district presidents and a multi point proposal was made which will be presented to the government. The association has a specific demand for the setting up isolation of wards in schools.

According to the guidelines by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for Unlock 4, schools and educational institutions will continue to remain closed. However, MHA said that students of classes 9 to 12 may be permitted to visit their schools, in areas outside the Containment Zones only, on a voluntary basis, for taking guidance from their teachers. This will be subject to the written consent of their parents/ guardians, MHA said.