Ever since the State Government announced that schools would reopen from November 1, Anusree P., a Class X student of Government High School at Kuppapuram in Kainakary grama panchayat in Kuttanad, was eagerly awaiting to mingle with friends and take part in school activities after a long hiatus.
While children, some with smiles on their faces and others crying, entered classrooms across the State on Monday, hundreds of students like Anusree in different parts of flood-hit Kuttanad in Alappuzha have to wait longer to experience the joy of being back to school.
"After several months of online learning, I was looking forward to going to school on Monday. After all, it would have been nice to be in a classroom, talking to friends and attending offline classes. But I will have to wait. My school premises remains waterlogged and the authorities postponed the reopening," says Anusree.
While a number of schools in Kuttanad reopened on Monday, authorities delayed the opening of 40 institutions, including 10 high schools in the region, due to waterlogging and issues caused by the recent flooding.
On Monday, there was knee-deep water at the 106-year-old Government High School, Kuppapuram. The school premises had been getting waterlogged frequently since the 2018 deluge and students face hardships to reach classrooms. Recurring breaches on the outer bund of the Kanakkassery paddy polder and delay in plugging the leak have only worsened the situation.
“I joined the school on June 1, 2020 and am yet to meet all the students together. We were planning to welcome students back to the school on Monday, but the prevailing conditions forced us to delay the opening,” says Ajithkumar P., the school headmaster.
Phased reopening
As the flood situation improves, schools in Kuttanad, which remain closed, plan to reopen in a phased manner. “Parents want the school to be reopened soon and teachers also expressed their readiness. We are planning to start classes for students of Class X on Wednesday after obtaining approval from the higher authorities. If floodwaters recede, the school will start functioning normally from next week,” says Mr. Ajithkumar.
V.R. Shyla, Deputy Director of Education, Alappuzha, said schools that remained shut would be reopened after assessment of the flood situation and cleaning.
