Calcutta High Court Seeks State Response To Plea Seeking Reopening Of Schools & Colleges In WB

The Calcutta High Court on Friday sought response from the State government on a batch of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitions seeking reopening of schools and colleges in the State. 

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed the State government to place its stand on record regarding the opening of schools and colleges before the next date of hearing which is slated to take place on February 14. 

Submissions on behalf of the petitioner 

Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya appearing for one of the petitioners submitted before the Court that it is high time that schools and colleges in the State are reopened in compliance with the guidelines relating to Covid-19 norms since the students and children are being adversely affected on account of closure of educational institutions. 

"All other activities are being sanctioned by the government except opening of schools", he further remarked. 

He placed reliance on an article in an international research publication titled 'Data and Policy to Guide Opening Schools Safely to Limit the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Infection' in this regard. He further submitted that in other countries educational institutions are opening in a phased manner. 

The Court was further informed that on account of closure of educational institutions, teachers are sitting idle and infrastructure is being wasted. Schools cannot be permanently closed on account of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the senior counsel argued further. 

Furthermore, it was also brought to the notice of the Court by other petitioners that due to the closure of schools, the rate of dropouts have increased exponentially. 

Submissions on behalf of the State government 

Advocate General S.N Mookherjee appearing for the State government apprised the Court that the State government is also in favour of reopening of educational institutions as physical learning is more effective than virtual classes. However, he argued that the State government has to be careful while taking such a policy decision in order to not jeopardise the health and safety of the concerned stakeholders. 

He further submitted that the stakeholders include- school authorities, non-teaching staff, parents and students. The Court was further apprised that there are divergent views when it comes to reopening of schools amidst the ongoing pandemic. 

He also submitted a detailed report before the Court which included a chart wherein it was stipulated that out of the targeted population of 45,39,811 students only 33,99,170 students have been given the first dose of the vaccine as of January 25, 2022. He further informed the Court that the State government is aiming to vaccinate at least 85 percent of students before taking a decision to reopen educational institutions. 

He also placed reliance on a Times of India (TOI) newspaper report dated January 28, 2022 which stipulates that children have been more affected by the Omicron variant than the Delta variant. 

Accordingly, he sought a short adjournment so that the State could deliberate and come to an appropriate decision and subsequently place it on record before the Court. 

Case Title: Soumen Halder v. State of West Bengal and other connected matters