Parents reluctant to send minors to school

Many schools report low attendance in primary and nursery classes

RAWALPINDI:

Parents are reluctant to send pre-primary children to school fearing that the coronavirus threat still persists.

Many private and public schools across the district have reported low attendance in primary and nursery classes with managements citing apprehension of parents about minors contracting coronavirus disease.

The classes for primary level started across Punjab in the third phase of the reopening of educational institutions after the coronavirus lockdown. However, attendance has remained low ever since in public as well as private educational institutions.

Similarly, as informed by the school authorities, around 60 percent of students overall haven’t cleared their outstanding dues for the past six months since the schools were shut down after the pandemic virus breakout.

Therefore, a number of private institutions have started giving packages comprising low monthly installments for fee submission as they are on the verge of closing down.

While talking to The Express Tribune, All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association (AAPSCA) President Raja Ilyas and District Education Authority (DEA) Member Irfan Muzaffar Kiyani confirmed both developments.

They said that the parents were fearful of sending adolescents to schools and the attendance so far recorded has been low from expectations.

The officials said that a large number of new admissions occurred in playgroups and nursery classes in different schools at the end of February however the parents haven’t started sending their children yet after the resumption of educational activities.

Further, the AAPSCA President warned that if the parents didn’t pay their outstanding fees to the schools, most of the small institutions might have to shut down. He demanded the government to provide easy loans to all such institutions to pull them out from the financial crisis.

Meanwhile, health authorities in Islamabad detected 10 coronavirus cases at three educational institutes, including the National University of Modern Languages (NUML).

Three cases each emerged at the Islamabad College for Girls F-6/2 and a private school in Sector I-8/4r, District Health Officer Zaeem Zia said.

Four coronavirus cases were confirmed during random testing at a NUML department, he said.

The health officer has written to Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Humza Shafqaat, recommending him to seal the F-6/2 College and I-8/4 School. He recommended putting the NUML department and hostel lobby under lockdown. Islamabad reported a total of 91 coronavirus cases on Wednesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2020.