Private schools rushing to get staff vaccinated
With physical classes scheduled resume from Wednesday, managements of private schools are scrambling to ensure that all their teachers and staff are vaccinated against Covid-19.
“We want everyone working in our schools to get at least their first dose before we reopen,” Telangana Private Schools and Management Association president S. Srinivas Reddy said.
“To be doubly sure, we also want parents and eligible members of our students’ families too to get vaccinated. Schools have been sending messages to parents in this regard. More the people vaccinated, better it will be for preventing a possible spread of Covid-19 within our schools,” he underlined.
Private schools are asking their staff to produce vaccine certificates.
Celine Victoria Lazarus, a teacher with Oakridge International School, said, “300 of our personnel have been vaccinated. We started the drive two months ago. Those of us who have not yet got the vaccine are doing so now.”
Some expressed reservations on how safe it would be for unvaccinated children to be in schools. Anusha Mondol, an IB School music teacher, said, “I took the second dose of vaccine this Friday. The management is strict on vaccination among
staff. But personally, I do not agree with schools going ahead with physical classes, as there has been no vaccination yet for children.”
Almost all private schools have been receiving calls from parents on safety measures for children. Asha
Lata, correspondent of Iris School in KPHB Colony, said, “We are informing them about all our personnel going through the schedule of vaccination and safety measures we have put in place,” she stated.
Ellena Fathima Michael, a teacher at St. Christopher High School in Venkataramana Colony of Khairtabad, welcomed holding of physical classes. Her concern is loss of learning among children with mere online but no physical classes. “I also do not support parallel physical and online classes,” she maintained.
A similar reaction came from Stella Sukumar, a social studies teacher at St Paul’s Public School, Gandhi Nagar. “Government allowing physical classes is a very good decision in my opinion,” she remarked.