Maharashtra: School resume after 20 months - Here's how schools, teachers, and students are dealing with the new challenges

Schools in Maharashtra have resumed from 1st to 7th grades. Students seem happy to get back to school and physically attend their classrooms. In two years, kids have missed the basic essence of going to school. Along with their comeback, there are a few challenges which a school, teachers, as well as students, are facing.

Most students have returned to the real classroom, except for a few parents who refuse to send their children to school. “We currently believe that students are pleased, and the only difficulty that remains is for students whose parents refuse to attend school. Although the numbers are few, for them, teachers are online as well. Along with an offline class a zoom session is being conducted for the other students," said Jyoti Vakharia, Headmistress of Mumbai Public School (ICSE), Mahim.

She further added, "we are in the process of teaching Grade-1 students the basic discipline skills - We have been teaching them a few basic disciplines on how to ask for permission for simple things like drinking water, going to the washroom, asking the way the washroom, wait in a queue.”

Students will require some time to adjust to the new pace. The motherly behaviour of the teacher is crucial in making kids feel at ease. According to Pooja Chandan, a senior teacher at the K.L. Mehra School, "as they've been observing everything from last year everywhere, students already know what precautions to take. It can be difficult for them to follow while wearing masks the entire time, but if you convey it lovingly, they will understand. Not only are students in grades 1-2 affected; all of the children have lost the ability to write. The educational environment has an effect on them, and they try to work."

Many schools emphasized reading, writing, and basic discipline In the online classes, they were accompanied by their parents or someone older. Mayuri Kulkarni, a primary school teacher, V.L.D. School, said, "students in primary grades have returned to class, and they are grasping everything quickly. We couldn't keep track of what the students were writing during online classes, but now that they're back, we can personally pay attention to each child's writing. The only problem now is that they can't write properly, especially the lower grades, because they've been missing the writing part all this time. We assign writing-related assignments to students so that they can comprehend the content as soon as possible."

Dr Seema Negi, Director Principal of Sanjeevani World School, Dahisar said, "our lower grades will start from January. We are already prepared to face the challenges of reopening. The only thing that is needed right now along with the academics, a teacher has to take care of the social, emotional, and psychological needs of the child. If we can do that, academics is not a challenge."

"When children return, we are not trying to have them overlearn stuff," stated Ms. Parveen Shaikh, Principal of Somaiya School. "It will be accomplished gradually, with teachers focusing on concept clarity in terms of academics. Students need some time to settle on the writing part. We'll ensure they learn the skills they couldn't gain online," she added.

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