Schools reopen, but turnout low

Gurgaon: Schools in the city reopened on Friday after being shut for over three months. The data recorded by the education department revealed that while 15-20% students attended the classes in the state-run schools, ‘budget’ private schools in the city saw over 25% children turning up on the first day.
Maintaining social distancing in queues and waiting for their turns to be screened and sanitised, before being allowed to enter the school corridors, students were beaming with excitement. At many places, teachers welcomed the students amid the chanting of Sanskrit shlokas.
An education department official has said the attendance is likely to pick up from Monday. Moreover, many students had to be sent back home as they failed to produce consent form from parents. “Many parents prefer to wait before taking any decision. We are sure that as they become convinced that our schools are doing everything possible to keep children safe on the premises, attendance will increase,” said the department official.
Inside the schools, students were asked to sit on the selective benches with their name tags on it. Teachers and school heads took a session to introduce them to the guidelines that are to be followed.
“The first day was to re-establish a comfortable space for the students. Teachers also reviewed the online learning that was going on while the physical classes were suspended,” said Manoj Lakhra, head of Bajghera Government School.
Private schools, however, chose not to call students for the physical classes on Friday. While the leading schools continued with online classes, it was only few budget private schools that reopened. “We can only reopen if we are allowed to ask all students to come to school,” said Yashal Yadav, principal of CD international school.