Hyderabad: With all schools scheduled to reopen for physical classes from Wednesday, September 1, managements of private schools are scrambling to ensure that all their teachers and staff are vaccinated against Covid-19. “We want everyone working in our schools to get at least their first dose before we reopen,” Telangana Private Schools and Management Association president S. Srinivas Reddy said.
“In fact, to be doubly sure, we also want parents and eligible members of our students’ families too to get vaccinated. Schools have been sending messages to parents in this regard. More the people vaccinated, better it will be for preventing a possible spread of Covid-19 within our schools,” he underlined.
Incidentally, private schools are also asking their entire staff to produce certificates of them being vaccinated.
Celine Victoria Lazarus, a teacher with Oakridge International School, Bachupally, told Deccan Chronicle: “As of now 300 of our personnel have been vaccinated. We started the vaccination drive two months ago. Those of us, who have not yet got their vaccines, are doing so now.”
While there appears unanimity among teachers and school managements on need for all staffers to get vaccinated, some expressed reservations on how safe it would be for unvaccinated children to be in schools. Anusha Mondol, an IB School music teacher, said, “I took the second dose of vaccine this Friday. The management is strict on vaccination among staff. But personally, I do not agree with schools going ahead with physical classes, as there has been no vaccination yet for children.”
Almost all private schools have been receiving calls from parents on safety measures for children while they attend physical classes. Asha Lata, correspondent of Iris School in KPHB Colony, disclosed that the school has been fielding multiple calls from parents concerned about safety of their children. “We are informing them about all our personnel going through the schedule of vaccination and safety measures we have put in place,” she stated.
Ellena Fathima Michael, a teacher at St. Christopher High School in Venkataramana Colony of Khairtabad, welcomed holding of physical classes. Her concern is loss of learning among children with mere online but no physical classes. “I also do not support parallel physical and online classes,” she maintained.
A similar reaction came from Stella Sukumar, a social studies teacher at St Paul’s Public School, Gandhi Nagar. “Government allowing physical classes is a very good decision in my opinion,” she remarked.
