BHOPAL: Even after three months of reopening of schools, offline classes have failed to be the preferred choice of parents as well as children due to Covid-19 fears.
Teachers said that classes in campus will not get the response schools desire till the option of online classes is made available. Schools are now hoping to improve the situation once the Diwali vacation is over.
The situation of offline classes is better in higher classes. However, the primary and middle classes are struggling as schools in attracting students. When contacted, parents said that there was no logic in sending their kids to the school till vaccination is not available.
“Why would someone send their kids to the schools for offline classes when there are online classes for them. Besides, fear of Covid is still there. Even on several platforms, the state government has asked the citizens to be cautious. In such a situation, I do not think anyone would like to send their wards for offline classes,” said Manoj Sahu, father of a class five student.
Another parent said that students have become quite familiar with the online classes. “What would you expect from students after attending online classes for over a year? They have become very familiar. Infact, this is the best medium for continuing their academics when there is fear of Covid,” said Aarti Rao, mother of a class four student.
Schools said that offline classes can’t be successful till online classes are there. “I have been saying for longtime that there was no meaning of offline classes when online classes are still there. Students are happy in attending online classes as it has become their habit. This is what we have seen that despite reopening the schools, students are not keen to attend offline classes,” said a school teacher without quoting her name.
Schools in Madhya Pradesh were reopened in July, this year. Schools were reopened in different phases. As of now, all classes from 1 to 12 have been reopened.
