Team Herald
MAPUSA: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday threatened to launch an agitation if the State government reopens the schools without studying the COVID situation.
Addressing media persons, NCP general secretary Sanjay Barde threatened to hit the roads and agitate if government reopens the schools by mid-October.
“Before reopening schools, government should tell people when COVID vaccine will be available for people. If government wants to reopen and risk life of children then all the MLAs should give it in writing that they are going to take health responsibility of each student”, Barde demanded.
“COVID-19 is business of the BJP government. In the last seven months parents protected and safeguarded their children and now, the government expects parents to risk the lives of their children. Even the educated people have fallen prey to this virus then how primary and high school students will be able to prevent themselves from getting infected in such environment”, he asked.
“Goa Government is not ready to hold the Assembly session when the House is spacious, but expects the students to adhere to social distancing when most schools have small classrooms with the number of students above 40”.
“There are 1735 aided and unaided schools in Goa of which 1135 schools are primary, 15 middle schools, 416 high schools and 104 higher secondary schools. If the number of schools in Goa is more, then the government should also look into the number COVID hospitals in Goa. Today, the patients are kept on stretchers and wheelchairs due to lack of beds”, Barde charged.
“The government should get the number of COVID cases down to zero in the State, review the situation and later decide on reopening of schools”, Barde demanded.
“Even if a student is infected, one infected person can infect a minimum number of five persons. In schools along with students there will be teachers and parents too. If the recovery rate in Goa is 85 per cent, the mortality rate is 15 per cent. As per the data, reopening of schools at present is not feasible”, NCP’s Mapusa Block president Gautam Pednekar said.
