Over 300 schools physically reopen in Gadchiroli, Chanda

NAGPUR: Over 300 schools have physically reopened in Gadchiroli and Chandrapur district following approval from parents and respective district collectors. State’s education department on June 15 had issued detailed guidelines about school reopening which puts the onus on School Management Committee (SMC) to take the final call, if the local competent authority has permitted that activity. Majority of the schools are managed by Zilla Parishad (ZP), while private aided and unaided make up the rest. As of Thursday, another 147 ZP schools in Chandrapur had sought permission to open from August.
In Gadchiroli where approximately 260 schools had opened till Thursday, district collector Deepak Singla instructed local education officials to ensure strict compliance of government guidelines. Singla said, “As per government guidelines, in areas where there are neither any Covid-19 cases nor containment zones, schools can open. But this decision has to be taken by SMC which comprises teachers and parents.” He added that more schools may continue to open as SMCs give their approval.
On June 30, TOI had reported that school teachers in Gadchiroli were discussing with parents about the physical reopening of schools. At that time in Bhamragarh taluka, ‘offline education’ had started with teachers visiting homes of their students since there was not even a single case of Covid-19.
In neighbouring Chandrapur too, 51 schools had opened till Thursday. Dipendra Lokhande, district education officer (primary), said, “We act upon requests sent by SMCs. All other guidelines of the state government and district collector have to be followed and our teachers are ensuring that.”
For ZP schools, education plays an important social role as well. In Gadchiroli’s remote Bhamragarh taluka, which is a hotbed of Naxalite activity, education is the child’s only ticket out of a life of poverty and social deprivation.
Bhamragarh’s block education officer Ashwini Sonawane said, “If schools were to remain physically closed for another three to four months, then majority of the children would have dropped out. Unlike urban areas, the natural environment is not conducive for education. Hence, our department and teachers’ role is to also motivate parents and keep the children engaged so that their interest in education never wanes.”
The physical school reopening plan got a morale booster on Wednesday with school education minister Varsha Gaikwad interacting with Gadchiroli teachers via video conference. A teacher who was selected for the interaction told TOI, “It felt nice that our efforts were appreciated directly by the minister. The conditions we work in and the terrain that some of our schools are located in makes our job tough but the satisfaction of providing education to a tribal child makes it worthwhile.”