KOLKATA: As school campuses reopened on Friday for classes IX-XII after the longest break in living memory, there was a rush of relief and excitement from teachers, staff and pupils.
They were glad to be back, and life was back to normal... well, almost.
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The first few days will set the tone for further reopening of the education sector. We can be optimistic but we also need to be cautious. Disregarding norms can lead to a setback.
At many
schools, attendance was as high as 90% of the total number called in, while at some others, it was 65% to 70%. On a few campuses, just around 50% turned up, with the authorities saying that the Left Front’s bandh had played spoilsport, and that parents had consented to sending their kids to school.
With 90% of the 400 children from the science stream of Class XII coming in for practical lab work, South Point School called the reopening a success. The pupils arrived on time, followed all hygiene and distancing protocols, guided by teachers, and did all the classes. Teachers were posted outside washrooms and at rooms where they took tiffin breaks, making sure the pupils washed and sanitised their hands. All 70 buses of DPS Ruby Park plied on Friday, bringing in about 500 children from different parts of the city. This was 80% of those the school had called.
At some schools, the turnout seemed low because only one section of Class XII was called. Percentage-wise, however, it was a high turnout. Take the case of MP Birla Foundation, where 90% students turned up. Here, the numbers seemed low because only Class XII physics students were called in. Similarly, at Heritage School, only 30 Class XII science students were called, of whom 25 turned up.
At Heritage School, classes started immediately after a short prayer conducted by principal Seema Sapru, where they prayed for a quick end to the
pandemic. The school is also housing the IGCSE exam, which saw a 100% per turnout.
All seven gates of DPS Ruby Park were opened up so that kids who arrived on buses and those who came on their own could enter through designated gates and followed the route that had already been given to them to reach classrooms. Half of the students from classes IX to XII were called in on the first day and the gates were manned by principal Joyoti Choudhuri and vice-principal Indrani Chattopadhyay.
At Birla High School for Boys, the turnout was 70%, while at Sushila Birla Girls High School, it was lower, at 50%. Similar turnouts were recorded at Lakshmipat Singhania Academy and Shri Shikshayatan School, too. “The turnout was low because of the bandh call,” said Bratati Bhattacharya, a spokesperson for Shri Shikshayatan.
“I was so happy to be part of the first batch of students to be called in to school today,” said Debadrita Dutta, a student of Class XII at DPS Ruby Park.
Tirthankar Sarkar, a parent, said he had discontinued the school bus service. “I will now bring my son to school every day. There are a lot of adjustments needed, but I am happy,” he said.