Nagpur: Middle schools in city are all set to reopen from Monday as Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has allowed students of std V-VIII to return back on campus. With this, classes V-XII now have the permission to reopen for physical classes if both school management and parents consent.
Chintaman Vanjari, district education officer, said schools have been briefed and there is an increased awareness about the issue now. “Schools started reopening from December onwards in Nagpur, so already a lot of time has gone by. Thousands of students are attending school everyday which indicates the system is not only in place, but also that people have got into a rhythm. Everyone knows their responsibilities and due care is taken to ensure that safety of children is not compromised,” said Vanjari.
Priti Mishrikotkar, education officer of the NMC, said all preparations are in place to ensure hassle free reopening of schools. “There are almost 600 schools which will start their Std V-VIII sections from Monday,” said Mishrikotkar.
The key will be to watch out for attendance figures in Nagpur city on Monday, as their rural counterparts had showed a strong response on day one. Just over 32% of students (Std V-VIII) in rural Nagpur attended school on Day One itself.
Education officials reiterated that attendance is not mandatory. Students still have the option of attending online class if parent are concerned about safety.
There is no official word on when Std I-IV will, if at all, reopen. Sources say it is unlikely that primary section will be started this academic session. A senior official said, “A lot depends on the local situation but there is always a chance that government may start it for just 10 days.”