Covid-19: The survey was conducted by the online platform Local Circles and it received 23,500 responses from citizens from 314 districts in India.

New Delhi: At least 63% of parents say schools should offer online classes if the district’s COVID-19 positivity rate exceeds 5% so that learning is not disrupted for affected students, according to a new survey.

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“Twenty-seven percent of parents surveyed said that once the Covid test positivity rate (TPR) in a district crosses 2%, online classes should be launched. While 63% of parents said that if the district’s TPR exceeds 5%, schools should also offer online classes so learning is not disrupted for affected students,” he said.

The survey was conducted by online platform Local Circles and received 23,500 responses from citizens from 314 districts in India. While 62% of respondents were men, 38% were women. Forty-four percent of parents surveyed were from metropolitan areas or Tier 1 districts, 34% from Tier 2 districts, and 22% from Tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

“Only 34% of the parents surveyed were in favor of organizing full-time physics lessons. Another 34 percent suggested a shorter school duration with no lunch breaks and indoor snacks. Twenty-nine percent of parents were very clear that physical classes should be closed if the district’s TPR is above 5%.

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“However, there are many schools across the country where the online education system does not exist. In these cases, switching to shorter-term schools might be the best option up to a point where the test positivity rate increases dramatically,” the survey added.

Schools across the country have been closed for over a year due to the coronavirus outbreak and have now resumed classes completely offline from the new academic session. Experts have also warned of the long-term impact of prolonged COVID-19-induced school closures.

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“Based on the contributions of scientists, epidemiologists, virologists and pediatricians, data on the risk of reinfection and lessons learned from the long COVID-19 in children around the world, a conservative approach is warranted regarding is about continuing studies when cases start to increase and positivity rates increase. School administrations and district magistrates should closely monitor test positivity rates and daily caseloads so that corrective action can be taken,” the investigation report adds.

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