Children will be left behind if we do not reopen schools now: Sisodia

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday advocated reopening of schools saying a generation of children will be left behind if do not open schools now.

Sisodia's comments came following a meeting with delegation of parents led by Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and public policy specialist.

The Delhi Disaster management Authority (DDMA) has called a meeting tomorrow to deliberate on easing curbs in the national capital in view of the improved situation of COVID-19. The issue of reopening schools is also on the agenda.

"A delegation of parents of Delhi's children led by @DrLahariya, @AiyarYamini submitted a memorandum to me signed by more than 1600 parents for reopening of schools. Why we are the last among major countries to decide on this?," Sisodia tweeted.

"I agree with their demands. We closed school when it was not safe for children but excessive caution is now harming our children. A generation of children will be left behind if we do not open our schools now," added Sisodia, who is also Delhi's Education Minister.

After being briefly reopened, schools in Delhi were again closed on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant.