AHMEDABAD: After Class 12, schools reopened for Class 9 to Class 11 on Monday with all the necessary Covid-19 precautions in place.
The first day of reopening saw thin participation with an average of 20% attendance reported across the state, according to state government sources.
While some parents are still reluctant of sending their children to school with warnings of a possible third-wave of Covid-19 from experts, heavy rains in many parts of the state also seemed to have been a deterrent.
In the case of Class 9, out of 3.72 lakh students enrolled in 12,936 schools, about 86,734 students attended on the first day They represented about 23.26% of the total students in Class 9. For Class 10 students, of 4.04 lakh, 98,000 or about 24.25% attended on the first day. Similarly, for Class 9 students, 14.35% or about 43,000 out of total 3 lakh, attended classroom studies on Monday.
Manan Chowksi, managing trustee of Udgam School for Children said that the school saw 40% attendance. He said that transportation is a major issue with many parents and their children. Once this is sorted out, the attendance in schools will increase, he added.
In Ahmedabad, 20% Class 9 students attended school on Monday while for Class 10 students 21% attended. In the case of Class 9 students, the attendance was only 11% in 324 schools in Ahmedabad.
Mrugen Shah, principal of Prakash High School said that they are yet to reopen their school for in-person classroom studies as parents are happy with online teaching and are not willing to switch to ‘offline’ studies immediately.
