Don’t shut down voluntarily, govt tells schools

Pune district collector Chandrakant Dalvi on Sunday said the state government has decided that educational institutions which have voluntarily closed down in the wake of the H1N1 pandemic should tender an explanation. Many prominent schools, which have so far not reported a single case of H1N1 among its students, have announced temporary closure.

According to Dalvi, only the district collector is entrusted to take such a call. He said after obtaining information from the schools and colleges, he will consult medical experts to know whether such a decision was really required.

According to the district collector, experts from the central ministry, along with state health officials, can help such institutes clear doubts on whether a closure is required. “We are of the opinion that closure of a school or college just out of apprehension will lead to panic,” he said, explaining that the state government has decided that a school or college will closed only if its students test positive for H1N1. Then too, health experts will determine if only a section or the entire school should be shut.

Bijal Prabhu, a parent of a student from Rajhans Vidyalaya in Andheri, said, “If there is no positive case in the school, there’s no point in keeping it shut. The CM’s decision makes sense as there is no need to create panic. They should take all the precautionary measures like monitoring ill students.”