Srinagar: Ahead of opening of schools in Kashmir Valley for the first time since last year’s Covid-19 lockdown, parents are still afraid of sending their wards to school, especially because school administrations are throwing all the responsibilities on the shoulders of parents and on students to keep safe from infection.
Kashmir Reader has learnt that schools have asked parents to give in writing that they will be responsible for their wards if they fall sick because of the time they spend in school. The schools have sent an undertaking to be signed by parents in which parents have been asked to assume responsibility if “anything untoward happens” to students or if they contract/develop an infection.
One such letter of undertaking, sent by Mallision school, has asked parents to confirm that they are sending their wards at their own will and if it results in the ward contracting Covid 19, the school shall not be held responsible in any way.
This is the fifth point in the undertaking. In the earlier points the school has said that it will follow the standard operating procedure for preventing the virus spread, but does not mention any point to which it will hold itself responsible.
Rihana, one of the parents who received the undertaking, told Kashmir Reader that it has left more worried than before because she now feels her ward will not be safe in the hands of the school administration. Her views are echoed by another parent, Muhammd Yousif, who said he was happy at sending his kids back to school after a long time but now has doubts after seeing how the schools are shirking from responsibility.
Parents are fearful about another clause of the undertaking. While the schools ask parents to ensure their wards to follow all SOPs, it has left them baffled as to how they would be able to ensure it. This should have been enforced by the school administration, but unfortunately, parents are being held responsible for it, said another parent, Mushtaq Ahmad.
In another notice, the schools have laid down the operation of classes on rotational basis, that too for limited hours in a day. This means students who could be present on one day have to access online classes the next day from home.
Rihana said such a schedule will be even more disruptive than the fully online one. In this new format, she said, it will become difficult for her to manage her children, office, and home. “The government must make a schedule which is workable, and less disruptive,” she said.
A senior official of the education department, which regulates the functioning of schools, on the condition of anonymity told Kashmir Reader that the aim of reopening schools is to get the wheels start rolling again. “The SOPs will be revised after some time,” he said.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz