A study to assess knowledge and attitude towards reopening of school during covid-19 pandemic among the parents of school going children in selected urban areas of the city

Abstract

The COVID-19 disease originated from a corona virus identified in China in December 2019 and subsequently developed into a pandemic in 2020. In India, approximately 250 million students were affected by school closures at the onset of the lockdown in March 2020 due to COVID-19. The pandemic created several challenges in both public and private schools, including a rise in dropouts and learning losses. It is necessary to get back on track to give parents their childhood back and provide equal opportunities for children to chase their dreams. Therefore, parents must act quickly to reopen schools. A cross-sectional survey was conducted for the study. A convenient sampling technique was used to select 100 parents of school-going children in selected urban areas of the city. The data was collected in January 2022 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings showed that 44% of parents' ages were between 26 and 31 years old, 69% of them were female, and the majority of families' monthly income was Rs. 10,001–15,000. Nearly 42% of parents had a primary education, and 35% of children were 7-8 years old, with 51% being male and 49% being female. The majority (32%) of children were studying in the 2nd grade. Most (52%) parents had good knowledge, 18% had moderate knowledge, and 30% had poor knowledge about reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of attitude toward reopening schools, the majority (54%) had a positive attitude, 23% had a moderate attitude, and 23% had a negative attitude.