The death of a teacher in a government school due to COVID-19 on Thursday led to an uneasy mood among teachers, parents and students in Chittoor district.
At a time when the schools reopened after seven months, the news has only led to affecting the smooth functioning of schools. Though the official figure of the number of teachers getting affected by COVID-19 stood at over 150 and the number of students scaling up gradually, the figure is believed to be slightly higher.
Some headmasters observed that almost all the students who tested positive to the virus were “asymptomatic”, thus escalating the risk of its spread.
By Friday, the COVID positive cases in the district crossed the 77,000-mark with 790 casualties, with 286 cases reported in the past 24 hours.
According to information, the attendance in government schools was around 40%, while it was even less in many private schools. More than 50% of the students were not willing to avail themselves of the mid-day meal scheme in schools.
“We are not forcing any student to take the mid-day meal, though it is prepared under hygienic conditions. We have insisted that the personnel attached to the cooking should have compulsorily tested negative to COVID,” the headmaster of a government high school in Srikalahasti mandal said, adding that the wastage of food at present was minimal as it was only the students of 9th and 10th classes attending school, and it could be much more if all the classes were functioning.
Hygiene
A headmaster at G.D. Nellore mandal said that in the absence of personnel to maintain the toilets, “I had personally cleaned the toilet.” Seeing the headmaster cleaning the bathroom, some students volunteered to do it in shifts. Except for the municipal high schools, almost all the government schools have no manpower to maintain the toilets. “Because of this reason, the number of girls attending school remains low,” the headmaster said.
It is felt that very few students would attend school in the next two months, and the numbers might pick up after the Sankranthi vacation. “I have two daughters studying high school. My parents are in their 70s. Fearing risk of virus spread, I have decided not to send the girls to school till Sankranti. After all, seven months are gone. Waiting for another two months is not a problem,” a woman headmaster in Pakala mandal said.
