Nagpur: The call for making Covid-19 testing mandatory for students is getting stronger as teachers’ association feels its members are also at risk.
As per state government’s circular dated November 10, the RT-PCR test is mandatory only for teachers. For students, a declaration on ‘health status’ has to be submitted. Ashok Gavhankar, general secretary of Vidarbha Junior College Teachers Association (VJUCTA), said that was very ambiguous.
“How can anyone make a health status declaration without a doctor’s report? We have no way of verifying if that self-declaration is genuine or not. In this way, we are putting at risk the health of other students and also teachers,” said Gavhankar. He added government must make it mandatory for every student to undergo testing.
Madhu Joseph, principal of Bengali High School (Hansapuri), said the tests must be done for safety of all. “Students may also be asymptomatic carriers. And if they are going to be on campus then it makes sense to get them tested. We are seeing positive cases coming up in states where schools are reopening,” she said.
Premlata Tiwari, principal of Bhola High School, said, “It’s a very natural progression. If teachers and students are going to be present in the same classroom, it is obvious that all must get tested.”
Ashnarayan Tiwari, principal of Adarsha Vidya Mandir (Gandhibagh), said, “It will be good if testing for students is made mandatory. Teachers are getting tested and a similar medical report can be submitted for students also.”
Local education officials did not wish to speak on record as all these policies are formulated at Mantralaya. One such official said, “Problem is that if all students are asked to undergo mandatory testing, it may overwhelm the system. Long queues will be seen at testing centre leading to chaos. So this could be one thought in our seniors’ mind while formulating these guidelines.”