Kolkotta: Classes for primary education in West Bengal might be resumed shortly with 50 percent capacity, state chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday. She made this announcement while addressing a function on the occasion of the distribution of land deeds for the refugees at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here on Thursday noon.
Incidentally, on Wednesday the Nobel award-winning economist, Avijit Vinayak Bandopadhyay argued in favor of bringing back the kids to the schools immediately. It is perceived that the chief minister’s announcement on this count on Thursday is an acceptance of Bandopadhyay’s observation and bringing back the kids to the schools on a rotational basis.
Speaking on the occasion, she said that already locality-wise open-air schools are being conducted in different pockets of the state for students of Class V to VII. “Let us wait for a few more days. If the COVID -19 situation does not become more problematic, we will consider resuming primary sections with 50% capacity,” the chief minister said.
Since the last few days, the opposition parties in the state had been vocal about resuming classes for the primary sections in the state. The observation of Avijit Vinayak Bandopadhyay’s was the latest on this count.
The Nobel Award-winning economist said that during the pandemic period the most affected had been the primary education system. He also said that there would be irreparably damage if the kids are not brought back to the schools immediately.
The opposition parties have questioned the justification of keeping the schools closed while allowing every other trade to operate. Classes have started from Class VIII to XII. At the same time, there are locality-based open-air schools for students of Class V to VII.
The opposition has objected to this system also since they claim that the required infrastructure is not available everywhere.
