MUmbai: The teachers of state-run schools have demanded the state government to provide vaccination against Covid-19 for all faculty and staff before starting offline classes in urban areas.
Parents of students of the state-run schools said the government should start vaccination for children soon if there is a plan to reopen offline classes.
Members of Maharashtra Union of Teachers said neither students nor teachers should be called to campus without being fully vaccinated.
Kishore Manjrekar, a teacher and senior member of the union said, "How can the state school education department plan on starting offline classes when teachers and staff are not fully vaccinated? First, the state should ensure all school faculty members are vaccinated and until then nobody should be called to campus."
Many teachers and staff are yet to receive the second dose of vaccination.
In addition, parents have demanded the state government to start vaccination for those below 18 years. Jaydeep Singh, a parent said, "If the state is planning to reopen schools offline then students should be provided vaccination. There will be higher chances for the spread of infection if students return to campus without being vaccinated. We cannot afford to risk the health of students."
Najeeba Osmany, another parent said, "Reopening schools offline is the need of the hour. There are many students who are deprived of education due to lack of access to online education. The state should take all necessary precautionary measures, consider the safety and security of students as priority and start vaccination for children before reopening offline classes."
