KOLKATA: On a day many schools across the state resumed on-campus classes after around a year, some schools didn’t. A few schools in Kolkata have decided to start classes in a staggered manner from next week while some others have decided to focus only on practical lessons and projects before starting full-fledged classes from classes IX to XII.
The government did not made it mandatory to reopen schools from Friday. The school authorities can decide the date of reopeing after consulting the parents and completing their preparedness.
The principal of a reputable school in central Kolkata said it made sense to reopen after Saraswati Puja so that classes can be held in a stretch.
Principal of another school in south Kolkata said that most parents were reluctant to send their children to school and have cited reasons like old grandparents at home and asthmatic children.
Calcutta Girls’ High School will be conducting in-person classes from Monday onwards. “We decided to reopen from Monday. In-person classes will start for students of classes IX to XII in a staggered manner so that all Covid-19 guidelines can be implemented effectively,” said principal Basanti Biswas.
“We have called students from Class XII only on Monday,” said Devi Kar, director of Modern High School for Girls.
Many students have decided to just focus on practical lessons and projects for the time being because their teachers have been able to complete the syllabus while teaching online but students due to take their board examinations have not spend any time in the labs this year.
“For the time being we are going to focus on students who are due to take their board examinations this year but have not been able to attend any practical classes as schools were shut. We are calling them from next week onwards in small batches for practical classes. The labs will be cleaned and sanitised every day after the classes are over,” said John Andrew Bagul, principal of South City International School.
At Calcutta Boys’ School, in-person classes will resume from February 17. “The classes will be in small batches following all safety guidelines,” said Raja McGee, principal and secretary of Calcutta Boys’ School.
St Augustine Rippon Street will resume in-person classes for classes X and XII from February 18. “We will be calling the students of the two outgoing classes in a staggered manner from February 18. Students from classes IX and XII will come from March onwards,” said Richard Gasper, principal of the school.
At Vivekananda Mission School, there was an online examination for the students of senior school which is why school authorities have decided to reopen from next week. “Next week students from some of the sections from classes X and XII will come for practical lessons and projects. We will further divide them in smaller batches so that there is enough space for social distancing,” said principal Sarmistha Banerjee.
Meanwhile, about 50 parents of students of classes IX and XI agitated in front of DPS Ruby Park on Friday. They demanded that the students should be allowed to continue on virtual platform since they are not board year students. They also demanded that the students be allowed to write final exams online.