Over 15,000 schools reopened across Maharashtra with 10 lakh students

Almost a month after restarting schools, more children resume regular classes; no Covid-19 cases among students, say officials.

Almost a month after the state allowed schools to reopen, the number of students resuming regular classes is increasing while schools attempt to meet the challenges posed by the pandemic.

A teacher demonstrates a science experiment in a classroom, which was also streamed live to other students attending online classes, at Tilak High School in Karad, Satara.

Schools were allowed to reopen from November 23, provided they followed guidelines laid down by the state government. According to the state education department, more than 15,000 schools have reopened and over 10 lakh students have been attending classes as of December 14. More than 90% of schools in districts such as Gadchiroli, Osmanabad, Satara, Solapur, Jalgaon and Nanded have reopened.

As per data shared by the state education department on December 3, a total of 1,51,539 teachers and 56,034 non-teaching staff in schools across the state underwent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to check their Covid status before schools reopened. Of these, 2,212 teachers and 682 non-teaching staff tested positive. Officials said so far, no Covid-positive cases have been reported among students since schools reopened.

Balasaheb Wagh, principal at New English School Koregaon, Ahmednagar, said, several students requested certain topics that were taught online be repeated. “Students said they did not understand a few concepts well in the online mode and even the teachers realised that there was no point going ahead unless previous doubts are cleared,” said Wagh. Manoj Mothe, teacher at Latur’s Deshikendra Vidyalay, said, “Many parents requested us to repeat what was taught. We are trying to revise the syllabus and finish what is left at the same time. Every day, we are calling students for four hours.”

Most schools HT spoke to said they were seeing a steady increase in the number of students in attendance. However, convincing parents to send their children to school remains a challenge. “Parents had genuine concerns, which we had to hear. For instance, many said they were worried about sending their children as there were senior citizens or people with ailments at home and they were worried about the risks involved,” said GG Ahire, principal of Tilak High School in Karad, Satara. The school has seen nearly 50% attendance over the last few weeks and has offered both online and offline options to students. “Our school timetable is shared with students who wish to continue online and teachers live stream the entire class for such students. This avoids duplication of efforts and students get the feel of being in a classroom and get to solve their doubts then and there,” Ahire said.

Balu Bhoyar, principal, Karamveer Vidyalaya in Chandrapur, said teachers are also working with students who struggled to adjust to online classes. “Special attention can be given to such students to ensure they do not face any learning hurdles,” said Bhoyar.

Adhering to the mandatory safety protocols means longer working hours for schools’ staff, many of whom must now come at least two hours before working hours. “We reach the school at 8.30am even as children are called at 10am. We have to get the entire premises sanitised and make sure students enter in a systematic fashion, wear masks and have their temperatures checked. We are new to this routine, but are slowly making it a habit,” said Wagh.