While the second wave of Covid-19 is quickly receding, and a new school year for students around India has begun, we need to take stock of the status of learning in our country. The majority of students in India have now been out of school for nearly 16 months and the future is still quite uncertain.  India needs to ensure that the education of our next generation of students, in a format that is based on science, is a state and national priority. Our students and their schools, all 330 million of them across India, from aided to unaided schools, national to an international curriculum, have just had to blindly follow guidelines, decrees, and demands over this past one and a half years, without any voice in how these health restrictions are implemented or understood at a local level.

 Being online has caused anxiety for all students. Parents share in these anxieties as they have been pressured like never before to support their children’s education. Teachers and school leaders work longer hours online, sometimes for a lesser salary and with no foreseeable end in sight.  The social and emotional impact of this past year on our students has been profound and policymakers and educators need to prioritize person-to-person learning in 2021 and beyond.

 This year, board exams were again canceled for Grades 10 to 12.  While exams are an important feature of the Indian education system, they are not more important than learning itself!  The vast majority of students were not able to access campus and face-to-face learning because of blanket decisions that allowed only the board exam grade levels to return to school, or only older children, grade 6 or 8 and up. 

Current research on infection rates continues to show younger children are at a lower risk in terms of contracting Covid-19, with those who do test positive having asymptomatic or mild cases and are less likely to spread it to others.  We need to follow the scientific research which continues to show that younger children are at a lower risk for infection and transmission and allow them to return to campus as well. Teachers and school staff should be prioritized as front-line workers for vaccination, in order to ensure the safety of students, who are not yet eligible for vaccination. Grade level opening decisions should not be based solely on exams and definitely not on fear. 

 As a nation, we need to prioritize student needs and follow other nations worldwide that have realized the importance of reopening schools for their entire student population. Tens of thousands of students in Karnataka alone, have gone without their midday meals due to closure of schools.  It is estimated that 56 lakh students in Karnataka rely on this vital daily meal.  There are many differences between India’s situation and other countries that have reopened schools, however, if we continue to reopen industry and business, restaurants and bars, why can’t schools also reopen? If parents and caregivers are moving about to shop, watch a movie, or attend a function, aren’t they putting their children at a higher risk than attending school? 

 India is famous for Jugaad, and we need to look at alternatives to the blanket policies which include or exclude vast swaths of students from on campus learning. Allowing more localized decision making within a set of overarching guidelines will allow those schools that can reopen safely, to do so.  Schools can slowly and methodically bring students back for half days, then full days as students learn how to socially distance (yes they need to be taught these things as it is not natural); wear masks properly at all times, and adopt regular hand washing habits while at school. Increasing access to digital devices for all students is not a viable long- term solution. Students of all ages need to be back in school for their growth in all developmental areas. 

Earlier this year, when greenlighted, schools took different approaches to reopening. Starting with two grade levels at a time for half days may be a safer option as it reduces the number of students on campuses at a given time. Half days avoid the most highly contagious times, eating with others, to start; with students leaving for home just before lunchtime. Using a staggered approach with 2-3 grades at a time alternating half-day classes on Thursdays and Fridays with Mondays to Wednesdays online for full days would give students the learning time needed on campus, while also ensuring their health and safety needs are assured. Those students who opt to learn at home for all five days can remain online and use the two half days to work asynchronously in the afternoons- socialize in school-created online events and other safe community-building activities. These measures can be adapted as needed to meet the needs of schools both in urban and rural areas of Karnataka.

 In short, we must use known health and safety guidelines to create a safe space for students and adults to interact within. Rather than succumb to one-size-fits-all directives for what all schools should do. Wouldn’t a set of guidelines, a framework for opening, that schools could apply to their specific and unique physical space and student population be more effective?

 Ms. Shweta Sastri, Managing Director, Canadian International School, Bangalore

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Bangalore, May 15, 2021: In order to overcome severe deficiency and shortage of oxygen for patients in crisis, Canadian International School, Bangalore (CIS) in association with the Entrepreneur’s Organisation Bangalore chapter, (EO – a network of 14,000+ like-minded entrepreneurs with 180+ chapters in 60+ countries) and Cytecare Cancer Hospitals has converted the school’s boarding block into a 120-bed oxygen center and step-down facility. This facility will cater to those who do not need critical medical care but are in dire need of oxygen. CIS has offered their facility on a not-for-profit basis as part of their contribution to the cause. The EO is leading the campaign, ‘Take a pledge. Save Bangalore from Suffocating: 100 Lakhs. 100 beds. 100s of lives, to raise funds and other resources for the oxygen center at the school. Cytecare Cancer Hospitals is the medical partner and will operate and manage the facility end to end.

Mr. SR Vishwanath, Yelahanka MLA, Mr. C.K. Baba, DCP, North East Division, Bengaluru City & Dr. Ashok, DC BBMP were present during the inauguration today at the school.

As part of the first phase of the campaign, CIS intends to equip around 50 beds in the shortest possible time to meet the current demand. In the second phase, the plan is to support the costs needed to scale up this infrastructure to 120 beds. The cost of each oxygen bed with consumables would be around Rs 1 lakh and the EO, therefore, has mobilized Rs 1 crore for the oxygen beds at CIS. The funds are being utilized for the purchase of oxygen concentrators and associated accessories. CIS and EO have worked with various organizations and been able to source 5-liter oxygen concentrators for each bed.

CIS has tied up with Cytecare Cancer Hospitals as the medical partner for this oxygen facility. Cytecare will provide the medical expertise, medical personnel and run the facility end-to-end. Cytecare has also set up a channel through which anyone in need of oxygen can contact them and post medical screening can get allotted an oxygen bed. Medical screening of patients will be done over the phone as well as at the facility itself to understand the patient’s needs. If patients need more medical attention, then they will be guided to a hospital.

“Oxygen beds are the need of the hour and it is great to see Canadian International School, Entrepreneurs Organization Bangalore, SRLC, Cytecare Cancer Hospitals, and Cloudphysician come together to help and put up this facility. I wish the entire team all the best”, said Mr. Gaurav Gupta, Commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP).

Ms. Shweta Sastri, Managing Director, Canadian International School said: “Today as we launch the Oxygen Facility at CIS we are extremely grateful to everyone that has supported us in our endeavor to help our community. We know we are living in an emergency situation and that people desperately need oxygen. Together with EO, we have been able to raise funds to purchase concentrators and equip beds with all the necessary furnishings. Kudos to the EO community for their terrific effort and support. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Cytecare and Cloudphysician who are doing an excellent job of running the facility end-to-end with medical expertise and support. With the opening of this facility, we hope we can help those in need and help our country get through these tough times.”

Mr. Suresh Ramu, Co-founder, and CEO, Cytecare Cancer Hospitals said: “Cytecare in collaboration with Canadian International School and Cloudphysician has launched a first- of- its kind step-down facility. We believe that there are a significant number of people who need oxygen at a moderate level who are now crowding hospitals. By creating step-down hospitals, we are able to free up that capacity for more serious patients. This is a significant contribution by all the stakeholders, and I would like to thank all of them for coming together to create this facility.”

Mr. Anuj Jhunjhunwala, EO Bangalore Chapter President 2020-21 said: “With quality oxygenated beds the need of the hour, the Bangalore chapter of Entrepreneurs Organisation, came forward and contributed in large sums to set up a step-down hospital in just 20 days, including fundraising, licensing and all permissions, in partnership with Canadian International School and Cytecare Cancer Hospitals.

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Bangalore, May 07, 2021: In order to overcome severe deficiency and shortage of oxygen for patients in crisis, Canadian International School, Bangalore (CIS) in association with the Entrepreneur’s Organisation Bangalore chapter, (EO – a network of 14,000+ like-minded entrepreneurs with 180+ chapters in 60+ countries) is converting the school’s boarding block into a 120-bed oxygen center. This facility will cater to those who do not need critical medical care but are in dire need of oxygen. CIS has offered their facility on a not-for-profit basis as part of their contribution to the cause. The EO is leading the campaign, ‘Take a pledge. Save Bangalore from Suffocating: 100 Lakhs. 100 beds. 100s of lives, to raise funds and other resources for the oxygen center at the school. Cytecare Cancer Hospitals will be the medical partner and will operate and manage the facility end to end. The facility is expected to be ready around mid-May.

As part of the first phase of the campaign, CIS intends to equip around 50 beds in the shortest possible time to meet the current demand. In the second phase, the plan is to support the costs needed to scale up this infrastructure to 120 beds. The cost of each oxygen bed with consumables would be around Rs 1 lakh and the EO, therefore, plans to mobilize Rs 1 crore for the oxygen beds at CIS. The funds would be utilized for the purchase of oxygen concentrators and associated accessories. CIS and EO are working with various organizations to source 5-liter oxygen concentrators for each bed.

CIS would be tying up with Cytecare Cancer Hospital as the medical partner for this oxygen facility. Cytecare will provide the medical expertise, medical personnel and run the facility end-to-end. They will also set up an organized channel through which oxygen beds can be allocated. The oxygen center will do a medical screening of patients on arrival to understand their needs. If patients need more medical attention, then they will be guided to a hospital.

Mr. Anuj Jhunjhunwala, EO Bangalore Chapter President 2020-21 said: “We have in the past come together in a small way during the first wave of the pandemic. This year we have come together to make a larger impact, hoping to make a contribution to the war against covid.  After a lot of deliberations, should we help with oxygen cylinders, should we help with food distribution, and other ideas, our member Shweta Sastri came forward and offered the hostel of her school, the Canadian International School, to be repurposed as an Oxygen Bed Centre, and we have tied up with Cytecare to manage the facility.  We all felt OUR CITY NEEDS IT and launched this project with the theme Save Bangalore from Suffocating. Our fundraising target is 100 lakhs for 100 beds in 100 hours. SRLC is our platinum partner for our project with a donation of 30 lakhs.”

Ms. Shweta Sastri, Managing Director, Canadian International School said: “We know we are living in an emergency situation and that people desperately need oxygen. The entire country is reeling under the pandemic and we thought we should do something for the community. Together with EO, we felt lack of oxygen to be the most critical issue now and that’s how the idea of the center came about. We are grateful to EO for its effort to raise financial resources for the campaign and to Cytecare Cancer Hospitals for stepping in as the medical partner to run the oxygen facility.”

So, don’t wait, Take a Pledge and Save Bangalore from Suffocating! Donations are eligible for company CSR contributions and would receive CSR receipt. Personal contributions would be exempted from income tax under section 80G. Those who wish to donate and help can do so on this link –https://fundraisers.giveindia.org/fundraisers/save-bangalore-from-suffocating

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