Letter to Baijal also says online education is inadequate of its own
The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) on Monday urged Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to open schools for children from nursery to Class VIII in a staggered manner. The DCPCR said it has received complaints from different quarters on the matter and added that it is affecting about four million children in the city.
“Clearly, children not attending schools cannot keep them safe since the adults are moving about and returning home. As it is, children are visible everywhere in public places. There appears to be little evidence about how school closures can benefit the children when all other sectors are open. It therefore remains unclear as to what extra vulnerability would children experience by coming to school or how they remain safer by not attending it,” DCPCR chairman Anurag Kundu said in the letter to Mr. Baijal.
The pandemic has caused serious learning losses for children of all classes, Mr. Kundu said. “For example, 17% more Class I students could not read letters in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20, according to the Annual Status of Education Report 2021 by Pratham Education Foundation. This is true not just for primary grades but for senior classes too. About 80% of children aged 14-18 years report lower learning levels as opposed to when schools were open. About 92% of children on average have lost one specific language ability as compared to the previous years,” the letter said.
The DCPCR also said that online education is inadequate of its own.
“The commission being the statutory authority responsible for protecting and promoting the cause of the children urges the Delhi Disaster Management Authority to issue necessary directions for the opening of the schools and anganwadis,” the letter added.
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