With the Education Ministry and the Health Ministry rolling out their vaccination drive for children above the age of 12, Education Minister Priya Manickchand revealed today that parents who opt not to send their children to school when classes resume on the 6th September can do the homeschooling of the children themselves.

“Parents will be allowed to home school or keep your child at home but would have the responsibility of ensuring they are engaged. The Ministry will make available all it has by way of resources on its website”, the Education Minister said on a Facebook post.

The Minister explained that it is not mandatory for children to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but she is encouraging parents to give consent for the vaccination of their child to pave the way for their return to the classroom.

It was also explained that schools will be allowed to come up with their own reopening plan in consultation with the parents. Schools will decide the days and hours of classes.

“Each school will have a different individualized plan that is informed by the PTA. So your plan is coming from you, except you don’t attend and contribute to your PTA. If you don’t attend and/or contribute to your PTA, I encourage you always to be engaged there. It is important. Plans can look like the entire school returning wearing masks because 100% of parents and teachers are vaccinated”, Manickchand said.

The Minister said it is important for parents to be fully informed of all the plans for the reopening of schools from the 6th of September.

The Ministry has already indicated that unvaccinated teachers will have to produce a negative COVID-19 PCR test result weekly or be marked absent.

The Education Ministry is coming under lots of criticism for its decision to reopen schools in early September even as the country is dealing with another surge in new COVID-19 cases.

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