Private schools reopen, students give classes a miss

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 4

With the Central Board of Secondary Education releasing the datesheet for 2021 board exams, senior students have gone into the combat mode.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, most private schools had reopened, but students were still giving classes a miss. The Centre had announced to reopen schools from October 15, but the state government had issued guidelines for reopening institutes from October 19.

Treading with caution, private schools in the city had decided to reopen after assessing the situation and getting consent of parents.

Anjana Gupta, Principal, DAV International School, “It's a challenging situation for schools as senior students, especially those appearing for board exams, are now entering a crucial academic phase. As per the health guidelines, every school has to follow the Covid-19 safety protocols.” DAV International School will reopen on November 6.

Rajiv Sharma, Principal, Springdales Public School, said, “Assessing the current situation, we are holding classes for one subject every day, with limited time period to give students more flexibility. Eventually, schools have to reopen and function properly. Parents need to be confident.” Springdales Public School reopened on Tuesday for a handful of students.

Bhavans' SL Public School has been operational for the last 10 days. The school follows social distancing norms and only 10 students sit in a classroom. Principal Anita Bhalla said she was hopeful that the situation would improve. Initially, only 5 per cent students attended classes. Now, the footfall has increased with time.

Meanwhile, some institutes are still jostling with an idea of reopening or continuing online classes.

Manjot Dhillon, Director, Mount Litera School, said they had conducted a consensus among parents on the issue of reopening of school for senior classes. She said they were all set to reopen the institute after October 15. “We cannot go beyond parental consent. Situation will improve with time and students will return to schools.”

Upasna Mehra, Principal, Senior Study II, said, “ Majority of parents and students are comfortable with online classes, which is surprising and reassuring as well.”

Principalspeak

It’s a challenging situation for schools as senior students, especially those appearing for board exams, are now entering a crucial academic phase. As per the health guidelines, every school has to follow the Covid-19 safety protocols. Yet parents are not ready to send their wards to schools. Parents should trust schools. We need to assess situation with precaution, follow social distancing and move forward. — Anjana Gupta, Principal, DAV International School

Six to eight months is a good time to adapt to this situation and schools are ready to give safety a top priority. Despite the fact that online system of education is now well established, still there is a requirement for interaction between students and teachers, especially students from senior classes. — Rajiv Sharma, Principal, Springdales Public School

We have not reopened as of now. As practical exams for board classes are about to commence, we have decided to make teachers available once a week so that students visit school and interact with them. — Upasna Mehra, Principal, Senior Study II

Surprisingly, not a single parent has agreed to send his/her ward to the school in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. The school management assured about all the safety norms. We even invited them to visit the school campus. In such a scenario, we cannot help, but just wait and watch. — Manjot Dhillon, Director, Mount Litera School

Students should attend classes and interact with teachers. On day one, around 10 students came to the school, but now, nearly 430 students (Class IX to XII) are attending classes with parents’ consent. As the CBSE has announced datesheet of board exams, I believe the footfall will increase after Diwali. — Anita Bhalla, Principal, Bhavans’ SL Public School

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