Locked at home and tethered to digital screens for nearly 10 months, schoolchildren in three states – Kerala, Karnataka and Assam – kicked off the New Year on Friday by breaking free from the shackles of the pandemic to enter their classrooms for the first time since the shutdown.
Kerala reported at least 95% attendance among students in classes X and XII, as both government and attended schools were partially open. Around 2,400 school campuses with more than 3,000 high school and upper secondary school sections came to life with the chatter of delighted children, even as authorities took extra care to ensure strict adherence to social distancing rules and small batch changes.
In Karnataka, children entered campuses decked out for their return. Attendance at PU schools and universities was set at more than 40% on the first day, which officials expect to be much higher starting next Monday. “It is Friday and the first day of the New Year. We had anticipated 50% attendance and that was more or less turnout,” said Minister of Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar.
The Associated Administrations of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka stated that attendance was around 85% in some institutions. Teachers in many places greeted students with traditional aarti and a shower of flower petals. The only thing hiding the happiness and the feeling of relief were the masks.
Assam got off to a more cautious start to regular schooling, and most tutors in Guwahati adopted a wait-and-see strategy before deciding whether it is safe to send their children back to the classroom. In Lakhimpur, Bidyamati Hajong, a student from class 4, said: “It is a great feeling to come to school on the first day of the year. We do not have digital devices at home for online classes.”
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