August is usually an exciting time for kids of all ages: the arrival of new school books and bags, the promise of a fresh start in a new class with new teachers and classmates, and the thrill of advancing one grade up in the school system, all contribute to the joy of this time of year. But thanks to Covid-19, all schools in Lahore, like everywhere else in the world, have faced prolonged closures since mid-March and students have had to make do with distance-learning programmes and online schooling, an imperfect replacement at best.

On August 5, Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas stated that schools in the province would reopen with standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place, tentatively from September 15. He added that the final decision on the matter would depend on the “[Coronavirus] situation in the Punjab.” Later, the Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood announced that a meeting with provincial education ministers had been scheduled for September 7 in which the possibility of reopening educational institutions would be reviewed in the light of the latest situation.

With over 160 countries worldwide observing complete or partial shutdown of educational institutes, nearly 90 percent of students across the globe are currently out of class. But the question that stands is: can children really be trusted to follow the SOPs, and are schools truly equipped to enforce the rigorous SOPs proposed by the government?

For parents, this is a tricky situation to be in. On one hand, managing distance learning for their children at home is a time-consuming and energy-intensive task for the mothers (as most fathers in our society are preoccupied with jobs and the burden falls on the primary caregiver). Stay-at-home moms already have innumerable responsibilities, domestic and otherwise, and the charge of ensuring their child is making the most of the limited exposure to schooling available in these circumstances is stressful and can often feel impossible to manage.

For Mehak Omer, a business owner and working mother, her only child’s long absence from school has hampered her ability to juggle work as well as the social interaction so important for a child’s development. She tells TNS, “Young kids are suffering the most. Distance-learning programmes aren’t practical for small children. I would rather send my child to a school with fully enforced SOPs and smaller-group classes than risk exposure in parks, restaurants and at people’s houses in providing the playtime my child needs.”

However, as difficult and stressful as it may be to try and facilitate our children’s education at home, the question remains whether parents are willing to send their children to school given that the spectre of the coronavirus is still looming and a vaccine has not yet been invented.

Saba Osama, a concerned parent of a preschooler, points out: “There is no such thing as a ‘safe’ reopening. So, as parents, we must be aware of the risks involved. Trying to enforce social distancing for playful preschoolers will be a challenge and students need to be made aware of the lethal consequences of infection through a creative medium such as storytelling that can leave an impact on young children.

“Nobody wants their child to be a guinea pig,” she says.

Schools like Aitchison College and Lahore Grammar have reached out to the parents to provide reassurance and state their commitment to SOPs in the wake of schools possibly reopening soon.

“At this early stage, we respect a family’s right to choose whether or not to send their son(s) to school, although we encourage you to do so. Accordingly, we will provide some portal support for boys who are kept at home or who may fall ill or who are quarantined,” said a letter from Aitchison College, dated July 19.

The caveat is that such leave of absence requires prior approval from the school, and children opting to stay home will not be guaranteed “full online teaching and learning support once (in person) school recommences.”

Further on, the letter admitted that “with almost 3,000 boys and two campus schools, it is simply impossible to practise social distancing.”

In the United States, over the last four weeks, there has been a 90 percent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases among children, as per a recent analysis by the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA). This is mostly thanks to the recent decision by the Trump administration to reopen schools, with the result of several new cases of coronavirus emerging in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi schools within days of classes starting.

In the UK, children are being urged to return for the autumn term, unless they — or a close contact — develop symptoms or test positive for coronavirus. Head teachers can follow up pupils’ absences and issue sanctions, including possible fines. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asserted that it’s a “moral duty” to get pupils back to school.

After Japan’s decision to reopen schools, there was heavy reliance on parents to check their children’s temperatures every morning and enter the results on a health report — which is then brought to school and checked by teachers again on the students’ arrival.

For teachers, online school is no less of a challenge: accustomed to in-person contact with students and chalkboards to relay concepts previously, they are now faced with the difficult task of learning how to master computer/mobile softwares such as Zoom and Google Classroom and struggle with issues such as unreliable internet connections.

Children are also difficult to discipline in virtual classrooms and seldom maintain an undisturbed stream of attention towards their screens when the teacher is not physically present.

When asked about the experience, Mehreen Zaidi who teaches A-Level English at LGS comments: “Teaching online is not for the faint-hearted. You need to have a great deal of patience and a lot of energy. Most importantly, you need to be able to engage students in such a way that they don’t feel at all that they are missing out on the actual classroom experience. I try to keep my classes interactive and intersperse my lectures with activities and discussions, but I still can’t wait to go back to school.”

Some of the proposed SOPs include staggering school timings for students; breaking up the student body into smaller groups to facilitate more effective social distancing; mandatory mask wearing; information sessions with students on proper hand washing, coughing and sneezing etiquette; more flexible sick leave policies; a ban on any sharing between students; and spacing out desks to avoid crowding.

A recent study conducted by Mass General Hospital for Children notes that out of the 192 children (in the study), around a quarter tested positive for the virus. “What surprised us the most was that children carried very high viral loads in their airway secretions. Loads that were higher than adults who are hospitalised for their severe Covid illness,” said Lael Yonker, the lead author of the study and director of the hospital’s Cystic Fibrosis Center.

Ultimately, the pandemic has opened up a Pandora’s Box of fears and concerns among parents. The need to stem any negative effects of a prolonged absence from school must be balanced with potential risks for students and chances of new outbreaks.

What is, perhaps, most alarming is the limited knowledge that we possess in regards to the disease and its cure. In this tricky landscape, each parent will have to make their own decisions irrespective of the government’s pressure. After all, the most precious thing in the world is our children.

The writer is a bibliophile, lawyer and freelance journalist