NOIDA / LUCKNOW: In seven months, the corner of the classroom where they huddled to discuss chemistry notes had changed. They could no longer whisper to each other behind the teacher’s back, they were sitting far apart and would have to speak through a mask.
The familiar “guard uncle”, who sat on a stool in the corner as they ran to their classes, stopped each of them to check their temperatures, wearing personal protective equipment. It was no longer the school they had left in March. It looked like a hospital and smelled like one too. The school was back in session on Monday, seven long months after the shutdown sent the academic year online, statewide.
It was mainly public schools that opened, for classes IX to XII. Private schools are expected to gradually follow suit, although it is the opinion of parents that will decide when. Most parents have told schools that they are not comfortable sending their children to school and exposing them to the pandemic.
Parents’ discomfort is reflected in Monday’s attendance. Less than 9% of the students enrolled between classes IX and XII at UP were present on the first day. UP has 1 crore of students in these classes. Of them, 8.5 thousand students came to class.
In Noida and Ghaziabad, attendance was slightly higher, oscillating between 10% and 20% on average. But student participation varied widely from school to school and from classroom to classroom. Noida DM Suhas LY said that she had held a webinar last week to educate all schools on the safety protocols that need to be followed.
“We have introduced all the protocols in the schools. But sending their children to classes is completely up to the parents, ”he added. However, none of the 135 CBSE schools in Noida opened on Monday.
.
