As states get ready to welcome students back for in-person classes from this month, the chief scientist of the World Health Organization has warned that children will face long-term impact to their mental, physical and cognitive wellbeing.
There is a fear that the lenghty school shutdown has impacted the mental health of children, as studies showed that a majority of parents said that digital schooling has failed its purpose, while the ASER report showed that only one-third of the country’s schoolchildren were pursuing online education.
"The impact on children's mental, physical and cognitive wellbeing will last a long time. School openings must be prioritized with distancing, masking, avoiding indoor singing and gatherings, hand hygiene & vaccination of all adults," WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said, quoting a tweet that said that the education of 1.5 billion children around the world was affected due to Covid-19.
States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have announced that schools will be reopening in a limited capacity later in August or early September, while West Bengal is mulling reopening schools after the Durga Puja vacation in November.
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