KOCHI: Even though the schools have reopened after Christmas, many of the educational institutions in the city are not working full-fledged due to the concerns about the looming threat of Covid third wave.
The confusion among parents to send their kids to schools amid the rising Covid cases and concerns regarding Omicron variant have affected the attendance of students in many schools.
Teachers of CBSE schools in Ernakulam said that many parents have mixed reactions as some want going back to online completely and some others want hybrid mode. However, a very few parents, mostly those of students in senior classes, want complete offline classes to begin anytime soon.
With many states having declared complete online learning for Classes I to IX, the teachers in Kerala too expect that the government might bring in similar restrictions in the coming days. Teachers said that many students who came to the school before the Christmas vacation stopped it after the vacation and opted for online classes.
Juby Paul, principal of ToC H Public School, Vyttila, and general secretary of Kochi Metro Sahodaya said there is dip in the attendance in some classes after Christmas vacation compared to the previous days. At the same time parents of high school and higher secondary students want full reopening of the school as they think offline classes are best for the students when it comes to the exam preparations .
“Before Christmas vacation began there were more than 40% attendance in most classes but it has dipped to 33-35% over the past few days. Though the issues of the pandemic are the main reason, we also think many are yet to be back from their vacation trips. Also, it is learnt that many students have viral fever and due to the symptoms similar to that of Covid, parents are a bit concerned. Though most of them have tested negative, the parents prefer them to stay at home and rest. We follow 50% online and 50% offline approach and are waiting for the government’s decision in the coming days,” Paul said.
However, as the vaccination for children aged between 15 and 17 has started, parents urge authorities to increase the pace of vaccination so that the kids can attend the school safely. They urge the government to carry out the vaccination through schools. Many parents are of the opinion that it is time to live with the virus and the best way to do that is to complete the vaccination.
“Parents of junior students are okay with going back to online classes. However, parents of those students who have to write board exams this year don’t want online classes anymore. The main reason is that many students found it difficult to write the part one of the CBSE board exam held in December as they wrote the exam based on the learning from online classes. So parents want the schools to function full-fledged,” said a Class XII teacher.
