Government schools reopen for students of classes 9 and 11

Government schools across the city reopened for students of classes 9 and 11 on Monday — nearly a month after the Haryana government closed schools in view of a

Government schools across the city reopened for students of classes 9 and 11 on Monday — nearly a month after the Haryana government closed schools in view of a spike in Covid-19 cases among school students and teachers.

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Schools, however, saw a tepid turnout, with principals saying that many students were yet to get a health clearance. In addition to the standard Covid-19 measures, such as thermal scanning and sanitisation, students are required to produce a health clearance certificate this time as per the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the education department.

Suman Sharma, principal of Government Model Senior Secondary School in Sector 4/7, said that 21 students in class 9 and 10 students in class 11 visited the school on Monday. “Around 111 students across grades 9 to 12 came to school today. While the awareness pertaining to the health clearance has improved, there were students who did not have the clearance today. We asked them to return,” said Sharma.

Ruma Mandal, a class 9 student, who visited the school on Monday, got a health clearance from a clinic in the neighbourhood. The 15-year-old said that she was able to catch up with lessons more properly in school. “We are able to ask questions freely and understand better in a physical classroom session,” said Mandal. Dipendar Dubey, a class 11 student, also got a health clearance from a private hospital that cost him ₹400. “There are many friends of mine who are not visiting the school as they yet to get a medical clearance. They are still trying to get a health clearance,” said Dubey, who was the only one from his class who attended school on Monday.

At Government Senior Secondary School, Bhondsi, nearly 70 students came for classroom sessions in classes 9 and 11. Shyam Raghav, school principal, said that students came along with the health clearance this time. “Unlike last week, when students of classes 10 and 12 started visiting the school, this time students were more aware of the health clearance. They know that they need to get a simple statement clearing them of any physical symptoms of Covid-19,” said Raghav. He said that the turnout of students was lesser compared to previous months since many teachers had started availing leave towards the end of the year. “Earlier, around 100 students would visit daily whereas the number stands at 30 to 40 students now. Students understand that many teachers are on leave these days. While we hold regular classes, the absence of teachers might be demotivating to students,” said Raghav.

At Government Senior Secondary School in Islampur, school students who turned up did not have health clearance. Raj Kumar, school principal, said that students had been told that the health clearance was a mandatory requirement for attending classes. “We have informed the students. They will get the clearance prior to the visits now,” said Kumar.

Deputy district education officer Kalpna Singh said that students from classes 9 and 11 had started visiting schools for classroom sessions and their numbers would increase eventually. “I visited a few schools today ( Monday) and found that students of classes 9 and 11 have also started coming for physical classroom sessions. Initially, students were not aware or clear about the health clearance but school principals have been guiding them and we expect more students to turn up in the coming days,” said Singh. She said that she had taken students’ feedback and most of them said that they were able to understand concepts in a better way in a physical classroom session. “I have asked students to share their experience of coming to school with other students so that more of them can visit schools,” said Singh.

Private school principals said that they would seek feedback from parents before calling students from next month, after the winter break. “We will take feedback from parents before asking students to visit schools. Right now, school is busy with examinations. We might take a decision pertaining to visits for practical sessions in the first week of January,” said Aparna Erry, principal of the DAV Public School in Sector 14.