Gujarat HC questions state government's insistence on 100per school attendance amid Covid-19
Categories: US Education News
The Gujarat High Court questioned the Gujarat government on its insistence to have 100 percent attendance for offline class even though there is still a risk of Covid-19. The case is being heard by a division bench of the high court consisting of Chief Justice Arvind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Kumar, which asked the government to leave the decision of school attendance to the parents’ discretion. The HC bench’s remarks came as it was hearing a PIL against the state government’s circular issued on February 18 which made it mandatory for all students to attend classes physically.Additionally, schools were also ordered by the state government to discontinue online classes, which made offline classes compulsory.It was further argued in the PIL that not all children under the age of 15 have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and insisting 100 percent attendance for these students will put such children at risk. The HC bench stated, “Why do you want to insist on 100 per cent attendance? Leave it to the discretion of the parents.”The high court sought assurances from the government lawyer that actions like barring a student from appearing in examinations on the grounds of their absence in schools are taken, as he argued that the state cannot insist if students do not wish to attend school.The government’s lawyer was then asked by the HC to seek instructions on the matter prior to the next hearing. CURRENT COVID-19 SITUATION Gujarat recorded 16 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases to 12,23,806, according to the state health department. There are presently 299 ongoing cases in the state.