Not all schools are ready to open their doors to students from Classes I-V on Monday. Many private schools are likely to restart physical classes after Deepavali, while others are considering delaying it even further.
Though the Karnataka Government has allowed managements to resume physical classes for primary school students from October 25, principals - after seeking feedback from parents - have decided to defer the reopening date as families are out of town.
Gayatri Devi, principal of Little Flower Public School in Bengaluru, said that they sought the opinion of parents of students in Classes I-V. “Around 78% of the parents responded, and more than half expressed their willingness to send their children back to school. But many said they were travelling or were out of town and would return to Bengaluru after Deepavali. Accordingly, we have decided to start only in the first week of November,” she said.
D. Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, said that some schools have decided to reopen later as they need time to make the necessary arrangements to ensure that all the COVID-19 protocol is in place. For most schools, however, it’s a question of logistics. Principal and teachers said that it is not feasible to run both offline or online classes.
Mansoor Ali Khan, member, Board of Management, Delhi Public Group of Schools, said that they may not reopen classes till January. “We will not start physical classes till a sufficient number of parents say that they will allow their kids to attend offline classes,” he said.
Inadequate staff
Mr. Khan said that they do not have adequate staff to continue both modes of teaching and will stick to only online classes for the near future. “Some parents have said that they will send their children back to school only after they are vaccinated. So there is a lot of uncertainty,” said.