Private schools clocked only around 20 % attendance in North Karnataka districts on Friday and Saturday, the first two days of after schools reopened after a gap of nearly 300 days.
Private school managements say that around 60 % students had indicated that they will attend offline classes and obtained consent letters from their parents. However, only a third of these seem to have attended classes, Muneshwar Lakha, director, Gyan Sudha Vidyalaya Committee that runs schools and colleges in Bidar, said.
He estimates that most parents are waiting for feedback from other parents whose children have attended schools on the first two days. Since these two days went off smoothly, “we expect more children to join on Monday,” he said.
Basavaraj Nemagoudar, who manages a private education society, said that attendance in four of the committee’s high schools had recorded attendance between 15 % to 20 %.
However, “our children will start trickling in, from next week,” Mr. Nemagoudar said.
Government schools, however, recorded around 50 % attendance, officials say. “It may be because government high schools have seen higher enrolment due to reduced paying capacity of the parents who were hit by the lockdown and the emotional reason of not sending children out of their own village or town. There may be other reasons, but we found these to be dominating,” said A.B. Pundalik, Deputy Director of Public Instruction.
Officials also notice that 10 % to 15 % more girls are attending schools. More girls are attending schools than those who attended last year in the same period, a senior officer said. “That may be because girls as a community are more studious. It may also be because parents are sending their boys to work due to reduced earning post the lockdown,” said Jayashree Gurannanavar, social activist.
