Covid-19: The Indian children who have forgotten how to read and write

In India, schools have remained shut since March last year when the country went into lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19. Affluent private schools and their students switched to online classes seamlessly, but government-run schools have struggled. And their students – often with no laptops or smartphones and patchy…

Karnataka schools, colleges reopen for classes 9-12 after five months

Schools and Pre-University (PU) colleges here and in other districts of Karnataka where COVID test positivity rate is less than two per cent reopened for students of classes 9-12 on Monday after a gap of five months. The Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai likened the reopening to freedom for students…

For India’s young generation, the costs of school closure amid Covid-19 are mounting

India has seen a lot of suffering in the last year and a half. But are we setting ourselves up for another prolonged and needless suffering well after Covid-19 recedes? Is school closure a necessary step to control the spread of Covid-19? It is high time to ask and answer…

Maharashtra’s decision not to reopen schools slammed by experts

Public health experts express shock that Task Force has opposed the Education Department’s decision to restart schools despite not having a single qualified person on the panel. Public health experts from Maharashtra have called out the State COVID-19 Task Force’s stand of not reopening schools for being unscientific and taken…

What Freedoms, Which Schools for the Millions of Abandoned ‘Offline’ Children?

All state governments need a quick appraisal of the situation of schools in districts and blocks to ensure immediate responsibility for necessary action. After a year and a half of closure, some states have announced plans to reopen schools in the coming weeks – though not for those who have…