By Poulami Roy
KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced that offline classes for VIII to XII across the state will resume from February 3 since the Covid situation has now improved.
While students of classes IX to XII have attended offline lessons for brief periods when schools had opened in recent months, Class VIII students will be returning to campuses for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020.
“Schools will reopen for classes VIII to XII from February 3 because the Covid situation has improved in the state. We will decide on reopening primary schools later,” Banerjee said at a press meet at Nabanna.
The school education department issued a notice instructing school authorities to start cleaning their premises from Tuesday. It also said that hostels may reopen according to the decision of the respective authorities while maintaining Covid norms. Teaching and non-teaching staff have been asked to attend school from Tuesday.
Deparpan Dhar, a Class VIII student of Scottish Church Collegiate School, said, “I’m very happy that finally I will be able to meet my friends. I have missed my school a lot; missed my classrooms, playground and everything. I have been waiting for this for a long time.”
A class VIII student of DPS Newtown, Himani Ghosh, said, “It’s been more than two years that I have not seen my school campus, the classrooms, the long corridors and my friends.”
Parents are happy, but many are still wary of sending their wards to school. “It’s true children have lost two years on campus, but we expected some specific guidelines from the government. My daughter has not been vaccinated, and I am worried about her getting infected,” said Debasis Basu, the parent of a Class VIII student.
Debasis Dhar, another parent, said, “It’s a welcome decision. Though I’m a little worried about infection, it’s true that students need to return to school.”
Private schools are focusing on the board students. At the same time, a few schools are planning to bridge the gap created by two years of online teaching.
Rammohan Mission principal Sujay Biswas said, “Class VIII students need special care because they are returning to school after two years. So, we need to bridge the gaps and ensure they can fit into the school atmosphere again.”
Some schools are planning to seek health declarations from students. South Point School spokesperson Krishna Damani said students who have got the first dose will be asked to include their vaccination certificates in a declaration. Others, like The Heritage School and St Xavier’s Collegiate School, have called a meeting on Tuesday for a final plan. Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan will meet parents on Tuesday before reopening. “It’s a great relief for the students, especially for those in Class VIII who have missed their school a lot,” said Sunita Sen, principal.
Lakshmipat Singhania Academy is planning to call students in phases. “Students have final exams just after six days, so we will ask for consent from parents on whether they want to send their children to the school or not,” said Meena Kak, director.
