E-Paper
Schools reopen in Himachal, few students turn up on Day 1
Schools opened for higher classes in Himachal Pradesh after eight months of closure due to Covid-19 outbreak on Monday, but only few students turned up.
Schools opened for higher classes in Himachal Pradesh after eight months of closure due to Covid-19 outbreak on Monday, but only few students turned up.
In the cabinet meeting held on October 15, the state government had decided to reopen schools for Classes 9 to 12. The government had made it mandatory for students to seek consent from parents to attend regular classes while the attendance was not compulsory.
On the first day of resumed schooling, not more than 25 students attended the classes at Government Senior Secondary School for Girls in Shimla’s Portmore, where 1,240 of them are enrolled in the higher classes.
Despite the fear of contagion, students were elated to be physically present in their classrooms after a gap of eight months. “It feels nice to be back to school after so long. As Covid cases are still on a steady rise, we are taking all precautions to safeguard ourselves against the disease,” said Ishika Singh of Class 9.
“Online classes were fine too, but learning is more effective in school and we can directly raise our queries to the teachers,” said added.
Similarly, Ashima Sharma of Class 10 said, “I am happy to be out of my home after eight months. I missed my friends and the active classroom environment. As it is the first day of school resumption, only a few students came, but more will turn up in the coming days.
“The school authorities sanitised the classrooms and premises ahead of time. Students were scanned at the gates. However, it appears that parents are still sceptical about sending their wards to school,” said the government school principal, Narendra Kumar Sood.
Many students also faced transportation problems as less number of buses are plying in the morning hours in Shimla.
