Should Schools Be Allowed to Re-open?

We recently released the Post Lockdown Handbook for Schools in India. The Handbook was very well received. Schools around the country appreciated our endeavour. It drives clarity on how to run schools post lockdown while achieving the twin objectives of student safety and excellent learning. But some parents have been livid. They have alleged that all this is because we want to make money. That we are only interested in charging fee. They have petitioned the government to stop schools from opening up. I thought it is time to weigh in with my perspective.

I am a parent of two children. I understand the fear that parents have of sending their children to school. I have experienced that fear myself when my daughter has asked to go for playdates with her friends. All kind of scenarios pop up in our mind and I wonder what can go wrong. So, I want assurance that if I send my children to school, they are going to be safe. Else, I’ll choose to get them to learn from home. The key word here is ‘choose’. I believe that parents should have the choice. Those who want to send their children to school should have the choice to do so. And those who want their children to study from home, should have the choice of high quality online learning.

We run India’s largest English medium online school. We have got 12 million total class views so far of our online classes. Schools, parents and students are all happy. So business-wise, I am neutral between the two options. But I know that the learning experience of a child in the presence of her teacher, along with her peer group, is unparalleled. Especially, if the teacher has created a careful, multi-modal learning path for the child that allows her to explore, connect and apply her learning. If there is no option and I cannot go to school, then a high quality online program is great to ensure my learning continues uninterrupted. But the ideal form of learning for children at the current juncture, with the current technology is still: Physical classroom as the primary mode, supplemented with online for practice and personalisation. 

So where does this leave parents, schools and government?

Parents should ask for choice, not bans. We must demand that our schools provide a high quality online learning experience so that if we decide to not send our child to school, they are not disadvantaged. And we should be ok with other parents choosing differently. Risk is a perception. Fear exists in different ratio and form in each person’s mind. We need to be ok with other parents choosing to send their children to school and we need to respect their right as much as we expect them to understand our fear. The desire to ban is a desire that all of us sink or swim together. The demand for choice is the acceptance of responsibility. If I choose to keep my child at home, I need to be ok with its consequences. 

Schools, on their part, need to take on the responsibility of earning the confidence of parents. With their actions, they must assure parents that they are taking all precautions and measures to ensure safety of children when they return to school. They must communicate clearly and openly with parents in this regard. To take care of those parents who are hesitant to send their children to school, they should provide an alternate ‘fully-online’ learning path so that those students are not disadvantaged greatly. 

Government should regulate, not ban or play favourites. They should set down standards that are simple, clear and easy to implement. The Handbook that we released is a step in this direction for schools to self-regulate. Government should inspect regularly whether schools are following the guidelines or not. It should pull up schools that do not follow these protocols but also reward or celebrate those schools who manage their operations well. My confidence on this front is a little low because this usually ends up with the local inspector taking a bribe to look the other way and that bribe ends up as higher fee for the parent. So its best if schools self-regulate and if parents hold them to account.

Most of all, we need trust. When fear and uncertainty is high, trust is the first casualty. But in the interest of our children, parents and schools need to work together, not at cross-purposes. The best way out of this situation is a gradual re-opening of schools with choice of online, offline or hybrid learning for students. Schools should offer choice and build confidence. Parents should exercise their choice and work collaboratively with schools. Maybe, this trust based contract between parents and schools ends up being Covid-19’s biggest gift to Indian education.