Private bodies write to LG Baijal, urge him to consider reopening schools in Delhi

The prolonged closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the mental and physical health of children, besides hampering learning, the National Progressive School Conference, an organisation of 122 private schools in the city, wrote in a letter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Monday. Earlier on Sunday, The Action Committee of Unaided Recognised Private Schools — a large umbrella body of private schools in the city — had written to the L-G’s office, pushing for schools to open and requesting a meeting with him. Last Wednesday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had met a delegation of parents who had submitted a memorandum requesting that schools and anganwadi centres be the first to reopen as and when Delhi begins lifting its current set of Covid restrictions. After this meeting, he had said the government would recommend the reopening of schools in the Delhi Disaster Management Authority meeting held last Thursday. However, the DDMA — chaired by the L-G — had decided to defer discussions on the issue to the next meeting.
Schools were first shut in March 2020 when a nationwide lockdown was imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19. It reopened for classes 10 and 12 for practicals and board preparation in January 2021, and for classes 9 and 11 in February.