Student count doubles since schools reopened last week

Number of institutes conducting offline classes in dist goes up to 478

One week after schools in Pune district reopened with a poor turnout of students, with only 4-5 per cent showing up on the first day, the number of pupils attending school has gone by over 50 per cent. Before the week ended, seeing fellow classmates attending school, other students have joined in.

Ganpat More, educate officer (secondary), Zilla Parishad (ZP), Pune, said, "While on day one, only 215 schools had resumed classes, now 478 institutes have started operating, with the number of students increasing to 16,000 from 9,000 on the first day."

The state government has, however, clarified that students can opt for either the online or offline mode to attend classes.

Dadasaheb Gunaware, principal, Thorat School, Bhigwan, said, "Initially, only 60 students attended offline classes, but the turnout is 122 now."

Rajkumar Bamane, education officer at Indapur taluka, added, "Teachers have been informing parents that schools have resumed physical classes and assuring them of safety measures followed in schools."

"Most teachers have undergone COVID-19 tests and are ready to take classes. We hope the student head counts will go up further in the coming weeks. Staggered schedules will, however, be in place to maintain physical distancing," More added.

The state government had allowed classes IX to XII to resume offline learning in batches last week.