Normal hours and full-fledged classrooms, Mumbai schools ecstatic to welcome students from March 2

After the BMC department approved the BMC Education department's proposal for schools to be held for regular hours with 100% attendance, Mumbai schools are ecstatic and are completely prepared for students to return as pre-covid times from March 2.

Schools are taking an extra effort to normalise and assure parents about their children's safety, taking into account all of the SOPs provided by the government. Pre-schoolers are also the ones who were the most affected by Covid, and their safety is now a top priority for schools. K.V.S Seshasai, CEO, Pre-K Division, Lighthouse Learning, a parent body EuroKids, and Kangaroo Kids said, "We are glad that pre-schoolers will be back and we ensure the safety of all our students along with our staff. We have resumed physical schooling, in compliance with all the guidelines and SOPs laid down by the government for safe classrooms. Our students will now be exposed to physical classrooms, group activities, extracurricular activities."

He further added, "Parents can support us in this journey by keeping their children at home in case they feel unwell. We have followed the guidelines laid by the leading international hygiene, safety, and security specialists like BVQI, Hicare, and Diversey to ensure that our protocols are comprehensive. We have also trained our teachers, caregivers, maids, security staff and attendants before the opening of the preschools about the new normal rules for the safety of our students.”

On the other hand, some city schools have seen a significant increase in attendance since the last time they were allowed to reopen. Allowing schools to operate to full capacity is now seen as an advantage. "We have staggered our school timing so that there is no major rush when the school begins and ends, as each session has around 1500 students coming in. Social distancing can be a concern though," said Rajendra Pradhan, President of D.S. High School, Mumbai.

"For higher grades, we have nearly 90% attendance, and for lower classes, we have more than 80%. Few students in our school are unable to attend classes physically due to their location, thus we are continuing online classes for them," he added.

Along with safety protocols, school principals will focus on students' classroom engagement, as they have been physically distant from all of the activities. "This is like a dream coming true. For the last two years, all of us were waiting for all students to come back, and finally, it is soon becoming a reality. Teachers are working on plans to make learning more exciting and engaging. We are also looking forward to work on writing skills and identifying students who need extra support, said Prachi Ranadive, Principal of Shishuvan School Mumbai.