Schools in Kolkata are realising that the newly-launched ‘paray shikshalay’ (education in neighbourhood) programme — holding open-air classrooms for students as a precaution against COVID-19 — is easier on paper than in practice as they face lack of open spaces.
The programme was started by West Bengal last Monday and is meant for students from Classes 1 to 7 in Government schools; students from Class 8 upwards are back to their regular classrooms. The idea is to “enable a joyful assembly, somewhat similar to classroom structure, free from fear, focusing on play, activities and interactive communication.” Students of Classes 1-4 are to report to the assigned open-air facility twice a week and students of Classes 5-7 five days a week.
“Paray Shikshalay is no doubt an innovative concept, but there are practical problems in its implementation. It is particularly difficult to find open spaces in urban areas and even if we do manage to find one, it is difficult to get students to congregate there instead of school premises. Guardians are wary of sending their wards to playgrounds where their safety may be compromised as it is impossible to keep an eye on every child,” said Krishnakoli Ray, headmistress of Dhakuria Sree Ramakrishna Vidyapith for Girls.
Ms. Ray has been holding classes for the students of Classes 1 to 7 in a land adjacent to her school. These classes were supposed to be held in a neighbourhood club from Wednesday but the facility remains occupied until the end of next week. She is in favour of these classes being brought back to school on a rotational basis, something that would spare students from dealing with unfamiliar surroundings and teachers from shuttling between classrooms and open-air venues.
“It is not feasible for children to sit out in the sun for the whole day. Board work is also a big problem in open spaces and teachers are finding it difficult to teach subjects like mathematics where the lecture method does not really work. Hence, even though as a concept — which is on the lines of Rabindranath Tagore’s idea of teaching children in the open — we still have a long way to go in replicating Santiniketan, owing to dearth of space and other related problems,” she said.
Dipanwita Roychowdhury, headmistress of Binodini Girls’ High School, has not able to start the Paray Shikshalay programme yet because of opposition by parents to their children going outside of school. “Parents told me they would not allow the girls anywhere outside the school. I told them to give that to me in writing, which they did. I submitted their objection to the department, and asked the authorities if I could hold the classes in open spaces within the school, but they said no. Finally, the local councillor asked me to make a formal request for holding classes in open spaces within the school, saying he would get me the permission. I have written to him and waiting for a response,” Ms. Roychowdhury said.
