Friday’s decision by the Government of Kerala to fully reopen schools and do away with online classes have shocked the medical fraternity in the State. Kerala is yet to come out of Covid-19 as doctors diagnose 6,000 new persons on an average every day inflicted with the pandemic. On Friday itself, 4,677 persons were tested positive despite the Health Department bringing down the number of samples to be tested to 56,558.
Neighboring Tamil Nadu where the daily cases have come down below the 800 mark is yet to fully open the schools. Parents are free not to send their wards to schools and the Government is continuing with the online classes.
According to officials in Department of School of Education, online courses would be in place till the end of academic year 2021-22.
22 November 2021 marked the reopening of the professional colleges in Kerala after the pandemic induced lock down for more than a year. Campuses all over the State came alive with various student unions staging demonstrations and rallies in colleges to impress the new comers about their money and muscle power.
A union owing allegiance to the ruling party in the State made the best of opportunities by organizing a massive demonstration in Government Law College, Thrissur, with a demand to open college canteen which they claimed was of paramount importance in academic life. College Principals in the State have made it known in parent-teacher’s association (PTA) meetings that they were under tremendous pressure from student union leaders and politicians to resume physical classes though the Covid-19 situation in the State was not conducive for the same. Students have the college union election and university youth festivals in their mind as they were the ideal arenas to exhibit their influence and power to the newly enrolled students.
Interestingly students admit privately that they prefer on-line classes to direct classes. “You save on time, money and energy,” said Mohan, a second year law student in Thrissur. He said it is time the authorities switched overt professional courses like law and post graduate programmes in literature, economics and humanities to the online mode. “ Teachers can address the students online without any hassles. Talks about such courses preventing the development of personality is nothing but non-sense. The syllabus we have to learn is heavy and there is no space for extra curricular activities in professional courses,” said Mohan hailing from Palakkad.
One of the senior government doctors in Ernakulam told The Pioneer on condition of anonymity that he was against the re-opening of schools and colleges at this stage. “It is almost December and there are just three more months for the academic year to get over.
The ideal choice would have been to wait till June 2022 and make arrangements for implementing Covid-19 protocol effectively,” said the doctor who also disclosed that there were many cases of memory fog among those who were infected with the pandemic. “We should not take risk with the future of our children to claim everything is fine in the State,” said the doctor.
