Just 20% of all students in classes 9 to 12 attended school in the Amritsar district on Monday after the Punjab government implemented a gradual return to normal after a seven-month lockdown due to the pandemic. Covid-19.
Students were allowed to attend school with parental consent and following Covid-19 safety guidelines, including wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and using hand sanitizers.
Schools have been ordered not to make student attendance mandatory and to continue online classes alongside offline classes.
Mandeep Kaur, Principal of Government Girls Senior High School, Mall Road, Amritsar, said: “1,600 students are enrolled in classes 9-12, but less than 20% of them attended school on Monday. As we weren’t aware of the number of students who will be attending, all faculty members were called on Monday, but we will soon restrict the number of teachers based on participation. ”
Dr. Anita Bhalla, Head of Bhavan SL Public School, said: “Less than 15% of the students came to the school, but more students are expected in the coming days. The school is following security measures. Since participation is low, only a third of the faculty members will come to school. ”
THE ONLINE OPTION REMAINS OPEN
About 10% of the parents sent the consent letter, which allowed their children to attend school in the Jalandhar district on Monday.
District (secondary) education official Harinder Pal Singh said many parents had come to the school to review the arrangements and authorities expected to see strength grow in the coming days.
“At each school, five to eight students from classes 9-12 were present. We ensure all precautions. The district has more than 53,000 students enrolled in classes 9-12 at 273 schools. Of those, only 5,000 attended class on Monday, ”said the DEO.
The situation was similar in private schools. Montgomery Guru Nanak Teachers Association President Kranti Ghuman said 45 students attended classes at MGN Adarsh Nagar School on Monday.
A teacher at a private school said that the option of online classes for students is still open and almost all students have a device to attend the class, so most parents chose to play it safe.
Manjeet Kaur, a resident of Shaheed Babu Labh Singh, said the state government and schools had put all the responsibility on parents by asking them to fill out a form, saying that in case a child tests positive, they will be held accountable.
(With input from Jatinder Mahal)
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