40% students attend classes on Day 2 of Delhi govt schools reopening

Around 40% government school students from classes 10 and 12 attended schools on Tuesday – the second day of reopening of capital’s schools for board exam preparations. Officials from Directorate of Education explained that this might be due to the flexibility offered to schools while planning the multiple batches of students to be called on alternate days.

“General trends show that around 40% of students from classes 10 and 12 came to school on Tuesday. Schools have been asked to call students in a staggered manner and this is what the data reflects,” a senior official from the education department said.

“We did not issue any circular on how many students should be called on each day. So schools have charted the plan depending upon the space they have. So the ones which are spacious could have called 100% students and the ones who did not have space can call even 50%,” the official said.

Principals across several government schools in the capital reported varying percentages of attendance. This was due to various factors including cold weather, the upcoming Joint Entrance Examination scheduled in February, and correlation between the number of students in the school and the available space.

For instance, Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RPVV) in Dwarka Sector 10, which has around 240 class 10 and 12 students, saw 85% of students attending classes on Tuesday.

Principal Rajpal Singh explained, “RPVV schools only allow 35 students per section. So we arranged the batches accordingly because we had the space and infrastructure to allow classes while maintaining physical distancing and all Covid-19 protocols. The numbers are likely to go up in the coming days as we have been focusing more on connecting with students coming back to schools instead of just academics. These students are connected to their peers and will motivate them to join schools as well.”

At Sarvodaya co-ed Vidyalaya in Rohini Sector 8, which has around 285 students in class 10 and 273 students in class 12, the attendance has been around 42%. “While class 10 students are still recording an attendance of 50% on both days, fewer class 12 students are coming to school, particularly from the Science stream. For class 12, we had around 43% attendance on Monday and 32% attendance on Tuesday. This is because they want to prepare for their upcoming entrance examinations,” said principal Awadhesh Kumar Jha. “We have been engaging with them and expect numbers to go up soon.”

While most private schools in the capital will be reopening gradually this week, the ones which opened noted an average attendance of 50%. For instance, Mount Abu Public School in Rohini saw 65% of its class 12 attending the classes on Monday and the number went down to 55% on Tuesday. The trend was reversed in class 10, where 40% students attended the class on the first day and 55% attended classes on the second day.

Principal Jyoti Arora said, “We are establishing a strong communication channel with our parents and students through regular messages, orientations, and social media platforms. They are being updated on safety measures being undertaken by the school. Students attending classes are also being asked to share their experiences with their peers who are apprehensive to come.”