RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Aug.16: The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) allowed the opening of schools for senior students and the majority of schools started running offline classes starting August 9 but a rough survey of the city suggested that parents are not comfortable with offline classes and not allowing their wards to go to schools.
The majority of students of senior classes still attend online classes and prefer remaining inside their homes and following the directions of scientists in place of the government.
“I did not allow my son to attend offline classes when the school sent a letter to me asking for my consent. Two days after offline classes were organised and the school found there were many parents like me, it sent another notice saying only online classes will be organised as usual,” said Rajesh Gupta, a forest department employee whose son is a class IX student of Delhi Public School.
“Majority of senior school students are below 18 and vaccines are yet to come for below 18. In this situation I found it fool to allow my unvaccinated son to go to school in the wake of the third wave of corona pandemic though my son was insisting me to allow him to go school,” another parent associated with D.A.V.Kapildev, Kadru, said.
The principal of SurendraNath Centenary School, Samita Sinha, supported the observation saying attendance is not up to mark.
“We call students on alternate days. One day is for Class XI and XII and another day is for Class IX and X. Average attendance was 40 percent though today, which was scheduled for Class XI and XII students, attendance remained 50 percent. Parents are not comfortable sending their wards for offline classes in the school,” Sinha said.
The principal of DPS, Ram Singh, supported Gupta. “Finding poor response from parents taking offline classes, the school is only organising practical classes for class X and XII besides class IX and X offline while other classes are running online. As laboratories are limited, practical classes are also organised with certain intervals,” Principal Singh said.
“Only those classes are running offline which is not possible to run online,” principal Singh added.
The principal of Gurunanak Senior Secondary School, Manohar Lal, supporting the observation said that attendance in his school ranges between 35 to 40 percent. “Parents are not comfortable sending their wards,” Lal said
Chairman of Sachidanand Gyan Bharti Model School, Amresh Kumar Shrivastava, echoed the same saying average attendance at his school is 40 percent.
“You can see children with their parents at malls but not at school, which is safer than malls as far as protection against the pandemic is concerned,” Shrivastava said laughing.
Principal of D.A.V.Kapildev Public School, Kadru, M.K.Sinha, admitted the fact but at the same time said that the situation is improving day by day.
“Earlier, the attendance was poor. But now it has started improving. Today 60 percent of the senior students turned for offline classes while in the beginning, the percentage was 40,” Sinha said.
Secretary of Vivekanand Vidya Mandir, Dhurwa, Abhay Mishra, however, claimed that attendance of his school is 70 percent.
“Starting with 50 percent the attendance has reached to 70 percent in my school,” he said, adding his school students also participated in band performances organised at the new police line. Mishra also shared photographs of classes.
A school driver in his reaction to the situation said apart from the poor response of parents, poor infrastructure of schools is also responsible for poor attendance.
“Many schools terminated the services of their contract teachers, drivers and Khalasi. They do not have sufficient teachers to take classes with due attendance to social distancing as to maintain social distancing schools are supposed to keep limited students in one class. If the schools would have provided buses, parents would have allowed their wards, and attendance would have been better,” the driver, who lost his job during the corona pandemic, said.
On which chairman of Sachidanand Gyan Bharti Model School Shrivastava said: “During the pandemic financial condition of the school has become very critical. Hardly 50 percent parents pay tuition fees. In this situation, running buses will be an extra burden on schools. Apart from this, many parents are also not in a position to give bus fees.”