[VJ05]

I have a Pre-school which is being run by my wife. During this Pandemic, one of the hardest industries to be hit is Education, particularly early education (read Preschools). Schools were one of the first places to be shut down by almost all the State Government during the second week of March'20 (even before the lockdown started). They took the correct decision as kids have low immunity levels and are highly vulnerable to catch any virus/infections/disease. However, nobody in the industry at that time realized that COVID-19 situation in India will reach a level when we don't know when the schools will be allowed to re-open in the Country.

As a backup plan and also to generate some revenue (parents won't pay the fees if schools are closed), most of the K12 schools in the Country have started Online/Virtual learning classes. It has both pros and cons. Some parents are not comfortable with their kids having 3-4 hours of screen time daily, some have apprehensions about the effectiveness of the virtual classes, active/hyperactive kids will not be able to sit in front of mobile/iPad/Laptop for hours and listen to their teachers. While these are all genuine concerns however schools also don't have any other option.

Now coming to the Preschools, they are having double-hard time in comparison to K12 schools. At best, it's a small business with no assurity of customer retention, parents can choose not to roll over the kids from Playgroup to Nursery in a Preschool and directly enroll them in regular K12 school in Nursery. Huge competition as you'll find Preschools in every nook and corner of major cities. High marketing cost, steep rentals, ever-increasing salaries, maintenance, overheads, etc. Not to forget the high CAPEX - ~10 Lakhs for non-branded one and >15 Lakhs for branded franchisees required to set up Preschools.

In the current scenario with schools are closed and not sure when it'll re-open, may be Aug-Sep (Schools/Educational institutes will be the last to open up once things normalize), it's a dire strait for Preschools. With all the expenses intact, 1-1.5 Lakhs/month for a branded preschool in a good area of a Metropolitan city and no revenue, majority of the preschools will find difficult to survive. Even if things normalizes in the next 3 months but till the time Vaccines are not available, Parents will not be comfortable sending their small kids to Schools. Also, majority of them are not able to conduct online classes as the kids (2-6 age group) are too small for virtual learning.

So, in a nutshell, most of the K12 schools will survive this downturn as their cash flows are good and they are generating some revenues however it'll be very difficult for Preschools to survive in the current situation.

As many of us have pre-schoolers, would like to know from people whether people are fine with sending their kids to Preschool once they are open.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by VJ05

As a backup plan and also to generate some revenue (parents won't pay the fees if schools are closed), most of the K12 schools in the Country have started Online/Virtual learning classes.

Is there some dedicated software package like a LMS (Learning Management System) for online education? Or are most schools using a combination of videoconferencing and mail, chat etc.?

[Prafful_Rathod]

Being a parent of child studying in 1st Standard, I would say I am not comfortable sending my kid to school atleast during peak of this pandemic. Schools will have to drastically change the layout and no of students per class. With the given limitation of infrastructure, I dont think this is immediately feasible or possible in most of the schools. How would you expect kids (particularly KG, LKG and even 1st to 5th std) to maintain social distancing, not to touch their faces, keep washing hands all the time. After a certain while their natural instincts will takeover and they would give a damn about all the instructions that we keep giving them.
I know how long will we keep our kids confined to home but I think online learning is best option at the moment and during these uncertain times. Unfortunately we are caught in a situation where we have few options and have to go for safety first.

[paragsachania]

• At first, we really need to see the growth rate of infection start slowing down (distant dream)
• Then, Parents ought to be taken into confidence by school management on how if they plan to reopen regular schools in few months have taken all necessary steps to ensure:

- Sanitization (classrooms, labs, rest rooms, buses, common areas, books and library)
- Social distancing (teacher-student, student - student, caretaker - student, driver - student etc)
- Educate and emphasize all of their staff including children about the virus on more frequent basis

None of the above is easy to achieve, especially with kids and like everyone else, I will also be extremely apprehensive about sending my kid (5th std) to school despite of all the awareness and education that we have provided in the last 2 months. No matter how much you try, kids till certain age in company of other kids will easily forget few norms and end up touching their faces, ears, eyes or even each others many times during a day. Heck, we still do not allow kids in our apartment to play together in the common area for the same fear because they would access the lifts, touch railings and play equipment etc!

In the parents group too, everyone is raising questions on how the school plans to introduce various measures in future to contain the spread if at all they plan to reopen in August/September. The virus is here to stay for a long time and that means any measures taken will have to be for long term.

Further, anyone who is infected (and asymptomatic) can spread this in school to others - It could be students, teachers or support staff who can be carriers. Hence, there is absolutely no way you can be sure of that someone looking normally healthy is not infected and continue with your usual chores at school.

How will the school authorities even keep a check on that? Before lockdown they did send a mailer requesting kids not to attend school for 2 weeks if any one of their parents have had an international trip but now (today) an international trip is not the only reason!!

In the end, for me it will be wait and watch. Wait over the next few months to see where we are with respect to spread and vaccine, watch what the health authorities have to say to schools on implementing guidelines and ensuring that they are adhered to.

Honestly, even though I have been dropping my kid to school over the last 3 years, she would be the last person I would want to take risk with by sending to school even after 4 months from now till there is really a certainty that all is well. But I shall wait and watch.

Online classes are not as effective as proper school teaching but then, we need to accept this as a norm for an year when most IT Organizations are finally embracing Work-From-Home culture for a similar reason even with educated adults.

[Rajeevraj]

I think there are two parts:

Pre-Schools and Nurseries: Definitely going to be hit badly in the near term as the OP mentioned. Not an age for online classes, kids are too small to understand social distancing and most activities will involve close proximity. Parents will be skeptical, teachers also will be concerned and owners will be even more worried. Also, with WFH becoming a norm in a lot of areas-especially in the IT Sector, the need for parents putting a kid in a pre-school, playschool will also come down. So overall, I don't see it looking good for the segment.

K-12 Schools: As OP has already mentioned, a lot of them are better positioned to ride out the crisis. They may be able to enforce the needed precautions. Online teaching is more feasible and I expect will become more prevalent. Higher classes may return to normalcy at some point, but for lower classes, I expect a combination of online sessions, home learning to continue for the foreseeable future.

I expect schools to be very circumspect to resume. So it may be an easy decision for us once the schools reach that decision point- which would be the difficult one.

[Miyata]

Tough choices to make there. Most of my peers have kids in the age band of 2-5 years or there abouts.

Before the lockdown, my kids were going to daycare/preschool. I will have to watch the developing situation and take a call once the lockdown eases up further.

Most parents I've spoken to are trying to make alternate arrangements to enable them keeping the kids at home and not send them to daycare/preschools. The alternate arrangements are largely along the lines of this - staying with parents; having parents/in-laws stay with them to help out; keeping a full time help with proper medical screening of course; etc.

The challenge is further compounded in that with WFH, it's almost impossible to handle both the kids and the official work. At the moment, most days I am having to extend my official work to late in the night (till after the kids are asleep) to be able to do my work. It is working out alright since I can push further the time I wake up - from 5am before lockdown to 9am since the lockdown!

I am also hoping that with all the considerations we are giving to "essentials" vs "non-essentials", we will realize that large part of our formal education is really "non-essential": Meaning, what is the point of cramming things up, regurgitating them out for the exams; forgetting them altogether; having not really LEARNED anything; the mind still remains closed and incapable of thinking with clarity and purpose!

Hopefully, we'll have some changes coming to the education sector as a whole.

PS - I have not voted yet. Will be in a better position to do that soon enough - need a bit more data points for my analysis!

[INJAXN]

It will be a wait and watch situation for me at least.

My daughter will be in UKG this year, but I am not sure when we can start sending her to school , irrespective of when it opens.
Will have to see how COVID spreads once all lock downs are removed. If numbers are still increasing I certainly will not send my daughter to school.

Remember, kids have less immunity and are less aware of overall hygiene practices. Kids are best safe at home.

[VJ05]

Originally Posted by am1m

Is there some dedicated software package like a LMS (Learning Management System) for online education? Or are most schools using a combination of videoconferencing and mail, chat etc.?

Schools with a good IT infrastructure and budget are able to build their own LMS. Rest will survive with Video Conference tools like Zoom, Meet etc.

[roy_libran]

Great thread! Question - Is there completely digital K12 offering in India; Ooe that totally does away with any need to go to a physical setup at any time for any reason?

I am not talking of Private Schooling though, because I'd be interested and keen in having children as part of a competitive ecosystem and not going about this alone.

[Thermodynamics]

Jaan hai to Jahaan hai. Cannot imagine our kids in ICU, God forbid.

For small kids < 5th grade, it is next to impossible to maintaining social distancing. I’m eagerly looking forward for home schooling options if that is feasible.

[VJ05]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

Great thread! Question - Is there completely digital K12 offering in India; Ooe that totally does away with any need to go to a physical setup at any time for any reason?

Currently, our Country has not reached that level of digitalization in the Education sector. Necessity is the Mother of Invention. Due to the situation, we are in, Schools are trying their best to prepare digital curriculum and conduct virtual classes however I'm not sure and would not want it to replace the physical schools. The feeling of Kids going to school, learning & interacting with teachers, playing with friends, making friends for life, lunchtime fun can't be replaced with digital learning.

[JojyKerala]

I have opted for the 1st option. With only 30 active cases of coronavirus in Kerala, the state is quietly moving towards normalcy. I'm confident to send my children to school whenever the government gives clearance for reopening (probably mid-June or July). As of now, the school hasn't taken any measures to introduce online schooling.

P.S.: I'm aware that thousands of Keralites are being brought back to the state in the next few days. If there is a spike in cases, I'm sure the government will postpone reopening of schools.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by VJ05

As many of us have pre-schoolers, would like to know from people whether people are fine with sending their kids to Preschool once they are open.

I'm a bit confused with the options actually. They are a mixture of preschool-KG-school & I think like me, most parents will have a different preference based on the child's age group. So instead of voting on the option, here is my thought.

My son is now 4, going into Senior/U KG when the schools reopen. I enrolled him into a K12 school from Jr. KG. So - I will be sending him to school when the government decides it is all clear and opens up the door.

But if he was ~3 years - I'd have decided against sending him to a pre-school. It would be better to reduce probability of exposure just for general peace of mind. Considering the learning in this age can be covered up to some extent by home schooling.

[nacd80]

I have voted on the third option. I will rather wait for the Vaccine to be successful. Why take a risk?

My kid is a 4th grader. As part of the CBSE, he had the first session (a month) concluded a few days back. It was all online. The school managed it really well, they used Google Meet, Google Classroom. Everyone had a learning curve, using new tools and new environment. There was cross-talk, goof-ups in screen sharing to begin with. By the time the session concluded, they reached a good level.
Google Classroom was used for Homeworks. Students loaded the homework back on the site, teachers checked and provided the feedback as well.

Obviously, it's not the same as being physically present. It can wait, I believe!

[vkochar]

Strange times and even stranger scenarios unfortunately. Never thought the world would flip this way in 2 months time.

Schools are facing the heat everywhere.

No relaxations from the government for anyone which means even the education industry will be hit.

Sending kids in Red Zones will be nearly impossible - Mumbai, Delhi and all major cities are in red zones and increasing.

I dont see kids in schools / colleges / institutions for the majority of the remainder of 2020.

This is going to pose a massive problem for the finances of the educational institutions and I foresee retaliation towards the system very shortly.

I have 2 kids - aged 12 & 7. The schools have sent so many messages regarding fees despite instructions to not ask. One of the kids fees is ACH and the other is paid manually by cheque. Both are in the same school and the fees are expensive. It is the most expensive school in the city.

Normal Auto Debit date is 10th of the month. It is done every quarter. Last month the auto debit was done on the 4th without a message / pre notification to mantain balance. Just done automatically and only message received was x amount deducted.

We kept quiet however in the next 10 days parents must have complained as they even deducted transportation charges which made no sense. There claim was EMI of buses and drivers salary - blah blah. The fees was also taken at an increased price from last year.

However The govt came out with a notice asking them not to ask for fees and not to take transportation charges and not to increase fees. All 3 they did not follow.

Few days have passed and I am getting constant reminders to submit the other wards fees.

Zoom classes happen but does the job shoddily with probably 20% of the productivity and enthusiasm. Lack of physical presence also kills the whole idea of educating.

We have optic fiber internet due to my business and also many gadgets and devices. A lot of parents do not have ipads and laptops and high speed internet. Imagine sitting 4 hours every day on a low speed plan and an old smartphone with a small screen. Asking that parent to pay normal fees is unfair and unjust and the kid is deprived of education as well as the means of this modern education.

We really need to just write 2020 off in every aspect possible. Lets take this year off the calendar in my opinion !

I know these are trying times however schools are definitely going to face a very tough time.