Government must reopen schools at the earliest: Dr. Srinivas Kakkilaya
Mangaluru: One of the major debates going around in Karnataka is the re-opening of schools for students after the COVID-19 lockdown. Parents, teachers, academicians, and activists have expressed their opinions on the issue, while a section of people pressing on reopening the school for the students. The state government, however, has categorically postponed the reopening of schools in the state till December 31 while experts and sources have also added that the government is mulling to reopen schools only when a vaccine for COVID-19 is available.
Doctor and activist Srinivas Kakkilaya has opposed the plans of the government not re-opening schools in Karnataka at least till December 31 this year. The talks are rife that the government is planning to re-open schools for students only after the vaccine for Coronavirus is released. Dr. Kakkilaya stood against the opinion and added that this amounts to injustice to students when all the other establishments are allowed to resume operations but schools.
Dr. Kakkilaya said the vaccine for the virus will not be released anytime soon, and once it is released it will be administered to COVID-warriors and other sections of the society including senior citizens on a priority basis which makes the idea of opening schools after availability of vaccination, pointless.
He also added that all the countries in the world prioritized the opening of schools after lifting the COVID-19 lockdown and the same idea and priority should be followed in India.
“The Education Minister has clearly emphasized that year zero will not be considered, and this is right. In a child’s life, year zero does not exist. Whatever the children are supposed to learn in a given year, they must learn.
“In the past, the schools used to begin in June and all the academic essentials would be delivered by the end of December, after which for 2-3 months the schools used to undertake sports activities, cultural events, and examination preparations. If the schools had resumed this coming December, until May, the academic curriculum could have been imparted, and in June, like usual, preparations to start another academic year could have been started, then there would be no question of a year zero. Since the Teachers, Students, and Parents have expressed their opinions that there is no need to cut the curriculum, these requests will be presented before the government” he said.
“The reality is that very rarely does Corona spread from Children to adults, these cases are very few. Children will not face any problems because of Corona. What is the number of children who have been infected by corona? How many children have been admitted to hospitals? How many children have died due to corona? Let the government release these details to the public. The chances of children being affected by Corona are very minimal, and even if they are affected, Children are asymptomatic. The number of symptomatic children registered in the state is very few. Looking at the facts and figures from the government, it has been proven that the closure of schools this long has not aided in reducing the rate of transmission in the state” he further added.
Opining that the children below the age of 10 years in the school will not need to wear masks and follow other COVID-related rules, Kakkilaya said the students are asymptomatic and will in most cases not show symptoms like cough, fever, and other symptoms.
“Therefore, the children in that category don't have to wear masks or follow other COVID-related rules. However, the children in High Schools must be cautious and take precautions related to preventing the illness” he said.
“The World Health Organization, America’s CDC, and other Studies around the world have proven that Corona does not transmit through touch or touching objects. They have categorically falsified the claim.
“Once the schools reopen, we won’t be able to notice even if a child has been infected, or when the child has recovered. It will help strengthen the collective immune system of a society. The World's disease transmission experts have said that the exacerbation of the disease does not have to result in certain death. Therefore, there is no correlation between the reopening of schools and the predicted 2nd, 3rd waves of the corona” he noted.
Speaking about the second and third waves of the virus in the metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, Kakkilaya said when the daily-wage workers who had headed to their natives during the lockdown will return to the cities they work in, they might show symptoms of the virus leading to second and third waves of the virus. He also said “When that happens, the government must provide them with appropriate medical arrangements. Mobile clinics must be set up in various places. By doing this, they must bring the children out of a constant state of anxiety and create an opportunity to go back to learning”.
“Both, government and Private schools must be reopened as it is necessary for the children and parents. Online education is not proving to be effective with children. Children require education, nutrition, and health. They will not obtain all of this staying at home. Corona will not raise a problem for children. We have hindered the all-round development of the children. This is inexcusable. Since the spread of the corona has become scarce, the possibility of children and teachers being affected by the disease is minimal, therefore schools must be opened immediately” he said.
China Is 30 Years Ahead Of India Due To Their Prioritization of Education
“Due to China’s prioritization of education, China is ahead of India by 30 years. China is 6 years ahead of America in this regard. If we observe the report of findings, the findings published by the Chinese Scientists are No. 1 in place. We are 30 years behind China.
“It is notable to observe that China, America, New Zealand, Taiwan, Sweden have already reopened their schools and colleges, while Australia hasn’t even shut its schools through the pandemic. On the other hand, it has been 9 months since India has closed all its schools-colleges. As compared to students from other countries in the world, our children are way behind in learning. It is incumbent on us to think about our Children’s future” Dr. Kakkilaya concluded.
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Surat LS candidate Nilesh Kumbhani whose nomination form was rejected suspended from Congress
Ahmedabad, Apr 25: The Gujarat Congress on Friday suspended from the party for six years its Surat Lok Sabha candidate Nilesh Kumbhani, whose nomination form was rejected over discrepancies leading to the BJP's Mukesh Dalal getting elected unopposed.
A statement from the Congress said the party's disciplinary committee decided to suspend Kumbhani after thorough discussion, adding it had come to the conclusion that the nomination form was rejected due to gross negligence on his part or "in connivance with the BJP".
"To be fair to you we have given time to you to explain your case but instead of coming before the party disciplinary committee you have gone incommunicado. After your form was rejected by the authorities, BJP went ahead and got form of other eight candidates withdrawn. This has deprived people of Surat their voting rights," the Congress disciplinary committee headed by Balu Patel said.
"People of Surat and party workers have become very angry due to your action and are expressing their anger in different ways. The Congress party has decided to suspend you for six years from the party," the press note said.
Kumbhani's nomination form was rejected on April 21 after his three proposers submitted affidavits to the district returning officer claiming the signatures on the document was not theirs.
The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress' substitute candidate from Surat, was also invalidated on the same grounds.
In his order, Returning Officer Sourabh Pardhi said the three nomination forms submitted by Kumbhani and Padsala were rejected after prima facie discrepancy was found in the signatures of the proposers and they did not appear to be genuine.
Kumbhani, a former corporator from Surat, had unsuccessfully fought the 2022 Assembly polls from Kamrej there.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha constituency on April 22 after all other nominees, including one from BSP, withdrew from the fray one by one on the last day of withdrawing papers.
