RUPNAGAR: In response to call of ‘No School, No Vote’ campaign launched by Federation of Private Schools and Association of Punjab, the faculty of local St. Carmel School including teaching and non-teaching staff members protested the close down of schools in view of third wave of Covid-19 Pandemic.
Teachers expressed their anxiety that online mode of education is not enough in meeting the needs of students effectively. Students are not able to satisfactorily clarify their doubts. Students and their parents have the opinion that online mode of instruction can’t substitute physical classes.
They said that in offline mode students not only gain formal education but also learn far more valuable virtues like discipline, punctuality, obedience and mutual understanding.
They said that students’ education had been badly hampered for past two years. Students were developing casual approach towards formal education and absenteeism from online classes has assumed significant proportions. They said that government had remained unsuccessful in providing requisite support to teachers and non-teaching staff of unaided private schools during past two years. Moreover, if it iwas feasible to conduct legislative assembly elections following Covid-19 protocol. Then why it was not possible to not to open schools with strict observance of Covid-19 protocols., they said.
The teachers said that schools were far more safe places than markets, malls, parks and religious places, which were open with full capacity.
They said that school faculty has been almost fully vaccinated. Vaccination of students between 15-18 years of age was being aggressively conducted..