Kolkata: Teachers take additional load to keep e-classes going

KOLKATA: Almost every city school has teachers, who are battling Covid at different stages. While some are serious, a few have succumbed to the illness. Family members of many teachers are affected, too. In a scenario like this, schools are continuously making efforts to keep the online routine going smoothly for students, with teachers taking on additional load so that classes don’t suffer.
In this second year of online education, the pattern of teaching has changed so as to reach out to those who have under-performed last year. Each child is being made to write and submit more and more assignments so that teachers are sure that they are able to pick up the threads of the concepts. As a result, the load of online corrections is huge and teachers are making the transition from exercise copies to e-corrections.
Schools said that while in junior classes, where the load of work is comparatively less, in senior classes, a lot of learning lag has been carried forward from last year so no gaps in online classes can be allowed. With colleagues ill, teachers have volunteered to take additional load — many with mild symptoms have volunteered to continue teaching with the camera off, standing in for those who have lost family members.
At Heritage School more than 12 teachers were down with Covid. While one teacher was hospitalised, several of those affected lost family members. “When the routine is being shuffled to keep the classes going, we simply took the additional load to keep the classes running,” said Seema Sapru, principal of the school. The school’s former vice principal, David Rao, and the present college section principal, Pranay Chowdhury, succumbed to Covid.
The headmaster of one of the St Augustine schools and 10 teachers across its Kolkata branches are seriously ill, said head Richard Gasper.
At DPS Ruby Park, a teacher passed away recently, more than 20 tested Covid-positive, some had to be hospitalised and some lost their family members. “Even as sad news kept coming in, other teachers stood in for their colleagues, knowing well that the future is uncertain for everyone,” said Indrani Chattopadhyay, vice principal of DPS Ruby Park.
With more than 10 teachers affected by Covid with their entire family, the atmosphere at Lakshmipat Singhania Academy is very tense. “In senior classes, to stand in for another teacher is not easy but not a single class went blank, thanks to the others. One such teacher who teachers English in classes IX and X joined work two days after she lost her father, saying that she wanted to keep her mind distracted and the children needed her attention. Hats off to my teachers,” said Meena Kak, director of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy.
At Birla High School, there are 10 affected teachers. One of them lost her father one day and mother the next and her husband is in ICU. “Our teachers lived up to the situation just like soldiers,” said principal Loveleen Saigal.