This govt school witnesses sharp rise in enrolment

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, June 21

Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Nehru Garden, during the lockdown, has witnessed a record increase in enrolment. The school in the last three months has managed to enroll as many as 921 students through video conferencing and Whatsapp groups.

Principal of the school Gurinderjit Kaur said the hard work of the teachers during the unprecedented crisis has resulted in an increase in the number of students for the new session. “The day state government announced to shut down schools and colleges in view of Covid-19 outbreak, teachers in the school were directed to resort to the digital route and start taking classes through Zoom, YouTube and WhatsApp groups,” she said.

Besides, special attention was given to the students who did not have smart phones or other gadgets with them. “We, on the very first day of the lockdown, prepared a list of students who didn’t have smart phones and access to the internet. We arranged books for them from our school book bank and got it delivered to their homes during the lockdown itself. Teachers also took classes of all these students via phone call and extended every help possible,” said Gurinderjit, adding that the school already has a name in the district for the best academic and competitive results.

Divulging details about the activities that the school teachers organised online during lockdown, she said just as a coin has two sides, so online teaching also has also its pros and cons. “Such classes keep teachers engaged forever (specifically) in their curriculum - from preparing notes to the PowerPoint presentation, regular follow-up with students and parents, along with the daily reporting to the principal”.

But on the flip side, there are various challenges to e-learning and the biggest challenge is the evaluation of students’ performance. “Online teaching for the time being is okay, but it can never replace classroom studies. The interactions between the students and teachers in the classroom help in instant clearing of doubts and understanding of concepts. Moreover, a teacher also keeps a vigil on the behaviour, attitude and aptitude of the student that in turn leads to all-round development of the personality of a student”, she added.

Sharing her post-lockdown plans , Gurinderjit said, after subtracting the outgoing Class XII students and adding the new admissions, we now have a total strength of 2,645 students in the school. “Though there are no clear instructions yet when the schools will be opened, but amid this health crisis, the safety of students is our main,” she said.

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