Globally, the Covid-19 is far from under control. In countries where the virus is surging and the number-of-patients curve has yet to flatten, the debate has primarily focused on saving lives and keeping the economy running. When it comes to reopening, an important piece of the puzzle pertains to educational institutions. Education sector stakeholders have been discussing several options to reduce the risk when students return to campuses. Nobody has a perfect answer yet since none of the proposals is foolproof.

When the pandemic hit, educational institutions in most countries closed down immediately and switched online to complete the academic year. Given that there was no prior planning, this transition wasn’t very satisfactory for students or teachers. However, at that stage, the consideration for public health risk took precedence. The hope was that the closure of the academic year, extending into summer vacations, will bring the curve down, and enable the institutions concerned to reopen safely. That hope hasn’t really materialized everywhere. Even in countries like China and South Korea where virus mitigation efforts were quite successful initially, reopening of schools resulted in resurfacing of the epidemic and they had to be closed again.

The government of Pakistan has often cited the example of United States to justify its version of lockdown, and to keep the economic activity going. The latest announcement about proposed reopening of educational institutions in Pakistan from September 15, subject to further review over the next few weeks, appears very ambitious. It seems that the authorities are weighing only two scenarios: either completely resuming in-person classes or keeping educational institutions closed. In doing so, they are ignoring the possibilities that lie between the two extremes. There is no talk yet of a back-up plan if they reopen and cases spike again. At least in this case, they are not trying to follow the American example.

In the United States, reopening has become politically divisive. It is realised that an extended shutdown will continue to affect economic indicators adversely. That’s the last thing President Trump wants in an election year. In a recent meeting with the K-12 school administrators at the White House, he pushed for an on-schedule reopening (in August). Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also threatened that school districts could lose federal funding if they refuse to reopen in-person classes. However, there has been considerable resistance to her stance. Scott Brabrand, the superintendent of the Fairfax county schools in the state of Virginia, has issued a statement insisting that the health and safety of staff, students, and the community needed to be prioritised over politics.

The devolved nature of government in the United States means that push back against the federal government is easier than in Pakistan should the state and local officials disagree agree with it. However, in states where Republican governors are in charge, the push to reopen campuses is unrelenting. The decision has not been openly linked to funding so far, but it remains an unspoken undercurrent. Texas is one of the states where Covid cases are still showing a steep rise. This is being attributed to premature reopening of businesses allowed by Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican. The second phase of reopening has been delayed since then. A group of Texas teachers, parents, and staff jointly organised a sit-in on July 15 in front of the state capitol to urge the governor and the state’s education agency to reconsider reopening schools for in-person learning.

Sylvester Turner (belonging to the Democratic Party), Houston’s mayor, has argued that the idea of sending children back to school doesn’t make sense until the situation is under control. Houston’s school district (where the case count is highest in the state) has announced a delayed start to fall semester (till September 8). The classes shall remain online for first six weeks before the situation is reassessed. Several other school districts and institutions of higher education have sent surveys to students and parents to figure out their priorities before finalising the plans.

One of the major concerns for educational institutions in case of reopening campuses at full strength is to ensure that the recommended standard operating procedures (SOPs) for social distancing and safety precautions (such as wearing masks) are properly adhered to. In schools serving younger children the risk is greater. The best practices ranging from in-person to completely online have been discussed. Several institutions, e.g. in California, have decided to stay online during the fall semester. The institutions of higher education too face a Catch-22 situation. Harvard University is the most prominent among a growing list of universities that will remain online in fall. Several others have decided to reduce the number of contact days by either delaying the start or completing the semester early (by Thanksgiving break in November).

Most of the institutions in other states are leaning towards a hybrid model that restricts on-campus interaction if they can’t go completely online. The hybrid model allows for holding a certain percentage of classes online and to meet on campus only when necessary, e.g. for athletics, labs, and exams etc. Another hybrid option divides the students in groups opting for online and in-person learning. This decreases physical presence on campus and makes social distancing relatively easier. The institutions are also committing to ensuring sanitisation and safety parameters in the buildings (not just in classrooms). In each of the plans being discussed, students are being given options and not being forced to return to campus.

Health experts have consistently warned that extreme caution needs to be taken before reopening educational institutions. America’s top infectious disease expert and a member of the White House’ Covid-19 task force, Dr Anthony Fauci, has advised against a one-size-fits-all formula and advocated for a decision based on local situations. Dr Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist and dean of Baylor College of Medicine’s School of Tropical Medicine, has consistently spoken about the dangers involved in reopening of campuses where cases are still on the rise.

During an interview with this scribe, Dr Umair A Shah, the executive director of Harris county’s Department of Public Health, conceded that reopening was a tricky topic at this stage. He said it was closely tied to reopening of businesses too as several parents were able to work only if their children were at school during that time. He called for innovative approaches to deal with this challenge adding that the confidence level of parents before they could send their children back to campuses would be a factor as well.

Give the difficult situation, experts have also argued for a greater recourse to use of technology to ensure that learning takes place with social distance guidelines in place. However, considering that the digital divide in countries like Pakistan is quite sharp, hoping that everybody will have similar access is going to be unrealistic. Any decision regarding reopening of educational institutions needs to take into consideration the risks involved as well as global best practices. For any learning to take place, one needs first to live and be healthy.