Supreme Court criticism, pressure forced vaccine policy U-turn: Opposition leaders
The Hindu
Chief Ministers thank PM for free vaccine for 18-45 age group
Opposition leaders across the spectrum on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s in government hospitals from June 21 has been driven by the and constant pressure from political rivals. While several chief ministers of Opposition-ruled States thanked the Prime Minister for ‘reversing’ the Centre’s earlier policy of asking them to buy directly from vaccine producers and offering the vaccines free of cost, several Opposition leaders argued that such a decision should have been taken right at the start of the vaccination programme, pointing out that the delay cost many lives. Among the Chief Ministers who welcomed the move on Twitter included Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, Tamil Nadu’s M.K. Stalin, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, Punjab’s Captain Amarinder Singh and Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot.Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.