Gujarat HC questions state government's insistence on 100% school attendance amid Covid-19

The Gujarat High Court questioned the state government on its insistence to have 100% attendance even as the pandemic risk remains.

The Gujarat High Court questioned the Gujarat government on its insistence to have 100 percent attendance for offline class even though there is still a risk of Covid-19. The case is being heard by a division bench of the high court consisting of Chief Justice Arvind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Kumar, which asked the government to leave the decision of school attendance to the parents’ discretion.

The HC bench’s remarks came as it was hearing a PIL against the state government’s circular issued on February 18 which made it mandatory for all students to attend classes physically.

Additionally, schools were also ordered by the state government to discontinue online classes, which made offline classes compulsory.

It was further argued in the PIL that not all children under the age of 15 have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and insisting 100 percent attendance for these students will put such children at risk.

The HC bench stated, “Why do you want to insist on 100 per cent attendance? Leave it to the discretion of the parents.”

Further, a news report on detection of Omicron+Delta recombinant virus in six states, including Gujarat, was also mentioned by the chief justice.

The chief justice then said, “Why do you want to take the risk? Leave it to the discretion of parents.”