On Day 1, 42% of called students attend classes in govt schools

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 23

On the first day of the reopening of schools for Classes VI to VIII, majority of the called students skipped classes.

Government schools outperformed private schools in terms of attendance as around 42 per cent of the called students came to school. The number was around 33 per cent in private schools.

Majority of private schools have decided to call their students for classes from Monday.

The rise in Covid cases had forced the state government to close education institutes in April. With the cases coming down, the government decided to reopen schools and hold classes physically by following Covid standard operating procedure (SOP).

Classes from IX to XII had started from July 16 after getting written consent from parents and Classes VI to VIII from today.

As per the data collected by The Tribune, there are 35,978 students enrolled in Classes VI to VIII. Of them, as per the guidelines, the teachers have called 50 per cent students. Of the 17,989 students, around 7,400 turned up to attend classes in government schools on the first day.

As per the authorities in rural areas, the number was quite high in comparison to urban schools.

The number of students in Classes X to XII is increasing day by day. At present, around 68 per cent called students are attending classes in government schools and around 65 per cent in private schools.

Rohtash Verma, District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO), said that Covid protocol is being followed while conducting classes. “All the schools have been instructed to get temperature of each and every student checked with thermal scanner at the entry gate. Their masks should be checked along with collecting the consent of the parents,” said the DEEO.

The attendance of each and every teacher and student along with their temperature should be uploaded on AVSAR app everyday by the head concerned as well as the class teacher, the DEEO said.

The students were also enthusiastic about attending classes. “I am happy that classes have been started physically as online classes cannot replace offline classes,” said Anu, a Class VIII student.