The schools in Rajasthan have reopened from 18th January for classes 9th to 12th followed by classes 6th to 8th in February. The directives were very clear regarding the safety of the students which meant that proper sanitisation of the classes is to be done before and in between 2 batches, masks to be worn by one and all, 50 % student strength etc. All this has been made absolutely clear and social media was brimming with all the mandates.

BUT students and teachers in certain schools in Rajasthan got infected after attending schools. Cases of Covid-19 have been found in Pratapgarh and Jhalawar districts. As per reports, one girl student each from Jhalrapatan, Jhalawar and Bhawanimandi government schools tested positive, a boy student from a private school in Bhawanimandi and a teacher in Jhalawar have also tested positive after the reopening of schools.

These reports are scary as re-opening of schools aroused fear in lots of people with respect to sanitisation and social distancing. Is it really possible to maintain social distancing in schools? Are all teachers  and students wearing masks? Are the authorities actually taking care of sanitisation in a proper way or is it merely being done as a formality?

It has also been reported by many parents that students were eager to get back to school as the long lockdown period made it difficult for them to understand their subjects and even newspapers provided information about the parents and students being asked about the re-opening; both fear and excitement were the responses. It is actually quite alarming to learn that covid positive cases are once again showing up, though less numbers have come up, after the re-opening of schools.

This definitely shoots up questions... Shouldn’t the DEO perform a sudden check on the schools and ensure that all mandates are being well taken care of? Should there be more of social distancing in schools (50 percent strength be reduced to 40 percent) to ensure that students get enough space to breathe comfortably as and when they feel suffocated in masks? Should the school authorities become more strict about No Mask, No Entry and remind the students very often that taking off masks is a risk which they solely will be responsible for?  

Though it is not yet clear how the students in the above mentioned districts got infected as there could be other possible reasons, yet if the students are getting infected it is all the more imperative that flying squads go for inspections in schools so that everyone stays safe and once covid is completely beaten, schools start buzzing with their regular activities.