Hyderabad: Even as the State government has reopened schools after almost 18 months and has relaxed lockdown restrictions, a survey has pointed out that almost 70 per cent of parents in Hyderabad are willing to send their children back to school. Edtech major LEAD’s new survey found that while 59 per cent of them felt that their children suffered learning loss due to the pandemic, about 69 per cent of Hyderabad parents are willing to send their children back to school.
The parents believe that a complete school experience is possible only with reopening, the survey pointed out. The survey was conducted among 10,500 metro and non-metro parents whose children study in classes 1-10.
The survey also indicated that for 22 per cent of parents, vaccination of school staff is a top priority. Besides, 55 per cent of metro parents rated social distancing as most critical, followed by healthcare facilities (54 per cent); whereas parents from non-metros said sports and social distancing were equally important (52 per cent).
In terms of the challenges parents faced during the pandemic, 47 per cent of metro parents said that they spent 3-4 hours per day in their children’s schools as compared to 44 per cent in non-metros. Further, it indicated that the majority of parents (63 per cent) feel that engagement in a physical classroom leads to better social interaction amongst children.
LEAD co-founder and CEO Sumeet Mehta said, “Children belonging to the lowest income strata faced the maximum learning loss due to inaccessibility of data and devices. Our survey clearly shows 69 per cent Hyderabad parents say ‘YES’ to sending their children back to school. Schools need to be treated as essential utilities and parents must send their children back to school with a positive and open mind.”