Attendance drops in Uttarakhand schools as many teachers test Covid positive

Attendance has dropped in schools of Uttarakhand from the day of schools reopening till Friday as many teachers have tested positive for Covid-19 in the state.

Attendance has dropped in schools of Uttarakhand from the day of schools reopening till Friday as many teachers have tested positive for Covid-19 in the state.

Mukul Kumar Sati, additional director for secondary education in the Kumaon region of the state said, “We have not gotten 100% attendance since schools reopened in the state. In the first few days schools reported better attendance compared to the end of the week. Initially 30-40 students from class 10-12 were attending classes on average per school but now it has reduced to less than 20.”

The state government is mulling to get testing done for all students studying in the state but final decision will be taken after looking into the logistical issues like availability of testing kits and how to cover students from remote areas.

R Meenakshi Sundaram, secretary for education in the state said that the education department is in talks with the health department to solve the logistical issues.

“Testing is mandatory for all students returning to boarding schools as the number of students are limited and they would be travelling from outside the state, but for day schools getting the testing done for all students is a little difficult because of the number of students. We have around one lakh students and teachers in just class 10 and 12. For testing we have to check the availability of testing kits, then how to reach each and every student in the remotest of the areas. Many such issues need to be considered before taking a final decision, but we will ensure that studies do not get impacted due to this,” said Sundaram.

He added that the district magistrates have been given the authority to take call on closing schools in their respective areas depending on cases.

“We are continuously monitoring the situation and in touch with all district magistrates. If there is a spike in cases in a certain area, then contact tracing can be done and decision on closing schools will be taken area-wise instead of a state-wide decision,” added the secretary.