For India’s young generation, the costs of school closure amid Covid-19 are mounting

India has seen a lot of suffering in the last year and a half. But are we setting ourselves up for another prolonged and needless suffering well after Covid-19 recedes? Is school closure a necessary step to control the spread of Covid-19? What are the costs of school closures? Which sections of society face these costs the most? Have other countries opened schools amidst the pandemic? It is high time to ask and answer these questions.

The issue of school reopening has been portrayed as a “life versus education” issue – that schools are closed to “keep children safe until they can be vaccinated”. This is a flawed perspective on several counts. First, studies have established that the risk of severe Covid-19 is very small in children and much smaller than other routine risks.

Recent studies in the United Kingdom examined all deaths (due to any cause) among school children and noted that the risk of severe illness or death from SARS-Cov-2 in children is extremely low and those at higher risk are also those who are also at higher risk from any winter virus or other illness, ie, children with “multiple health conditions and complex disabilities”.

To understand how low the risk is, consider this: as…

Read more