There was a mixed response from parents regarding reopening of schools for Classes 9,10,11 and 12, during the consultation meetings held at schools across Madurai district on Monday, say school heads.
Officials from the School Education department said questionnaires were issued to parents asking if they were willing to send their children to schools and the whole discussion that the parents had with school authorities were also video recorded. “All these documents obtained from schools have been sent to the headquarters,” said an official.
A teacher from the Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Sholavandan said while some parents wanted the schools to continue with online classes, most of the parents did not want the schools to be reopened. “The parents who oppose the reopening of schools question how well can COVID-19 safety precautions be followed by the students at schools and while commuting to schools,” he said.
M. Senthilnathan, president of Private Schools Correspondents Confederation, Madurai, said though many parents wanted schools to reopen, they were divided in their opinion on when to reopen them. “While some parents wanted the schools to reopen after Deepavali, many wanted schools to reopen only in January,” he said.