Our Staff Reporter
Indore
About 35-40 per cent students showed up in government schools and those affiliated to MP Board, on the first day of regular classes on Friday. The schools reopened after nine months.
In the new normal, students attempting board examinations, i.e. class 10th and 12th were able to attend offline classes for the first time in the session. Students attempting regular classes were paranoid and feared catching coronavirus infection. However, the fear of failing board examinations overcame the fear of corona.
Before students, parents were counselled
Before starting classes, parents were counselled in schools informing them about safety measures taken while reopening the school. In some schools, teachers interacted with parents via online portals and apps.
Most parents, though worried, felt the need of offline classes for proper understanding. “Coronavirus outbreak has baffled the entire world, but we cannot stop working and living, so stopping our children’s life and education is also not justified,” Trupti Jajodia, a parent, said.
She was worried about her son and had considered making him skip the exam this year. “However, my son doesn’t want to waste a year and he’s probably right, because nobody knows when corona will actually go away and whether we will go back to old normal,” Jajodia said.
Another parent Kishore Bisen had similar views and said, “I have asked my daughter to take extra precautions and I trust her and I pray nothing happens to her.”
A lot of parents were not clear about the reopening and preferred to wait for a while before sending their child to school.
The New Normal at Schools
Walking into the school premises chatting with friends and joking around was the old normal. In the New Normal after coronavirus outbreak, students stood in queues waiting to sanitise or wash their hands. Further, more important than carrying required books, students were checked for carrying sanitiser bottles.
Teachers also followed the same procedure and arrive before students to ensure sanitisers outside their classrooms.
Parents queued to give consent
Not just students, parents also stood in queues or sat in chairs waiting to submit their consent forms. As relatives or parent sat or stood in queues, the coordinating teacher of the class called out names for accepting consent letters.
Much like attendance in classrooms, parents gave their consent for sending children to school. Following that, parents were again warned and told not to send their child to school in case of any coronavirus symptoms, i.e. fever or cold in the last seven days.
Further, parents were asked to inform if anyone in the family or surrounding of the child has tested positive for coronavirus.
No more sharing in classrooms
Before the class started, class teachers informed students about requisite precautions to be followed in the school. Further, students were asked to inform in case anyone at home suffers from fever and/or tests positive for coronavirus.
To ensure no-touch, students were strictly instructed not to share any stationary items. Following social distancing, students were made to sit separately on different benches.
Students: Can’t prepare for boards at home
Patron of MP Private School Association Gopal Soni and Model School principal Bella Tandon shared that coordinating teacher had informed the family and children about the commencement of class through various communication apps and social platforms.
“With coronavirus outbreak, we have to learn to live with the new normal and students have to attempt board examinations for this session and further in life,” Soni said. He added that most students were unable to attend and even comprehend online classes.
“A lot of schools did not even conduct online classes, as students did not have access to proper facilities for attending them,” Soni said.
Students agreed with the same and commented that attending school and studying in a classroom is the only effective way of studying. “Online studies works for completing course, but to understand the syllabus and prepare properly for examination, we need to study in a proper classroom,” Anu Kale, a student of class 12th, said.
Another student of class 12th Kunal Rajoria, said, “I have been worried about board examinations, because I did not feel prepared at home.” He felt hopeful of being able to clear board examinations with regular classes.
