Smiles and tears marked day one of the new academic year as thousands of children entered the world of letters in schools across Ernakulam on Monday.
Teachers had a tough time consoling the weeping tots who could not bear the pain of separation from their parents for a few hours in the morning. On the other hand, several other children were all smiles as they enjoyed every moment of their first day at school.
Hundreds participated in a colourful procession held in connection with the district-level ‘praveshanolsavam’ at the Government Lower Primary School in Valayanchirangara. Minister for Excise K. Babu and Ernakulam district panchayat president Eldhose Kunnappilly participated.
At a programme held at Government Girls’ Lower Primary School, Ernakulam, former Supreme Court judge V.R. Krishna Iyer, MLA Hibi Eden, and actor Sneha Sreekumar joined teachers in welcoming the newcomers to the campus.
About 16,000 students got enrolled in various schools in Ernakulam district on the first day of the new academic year.
Fifteen differently-abled children joined the special school run by Adarsh Charitage Trust at Kureekkad. They were accompanied by their parents.
Traffic snarlsSeveral roads got choked as schools reopened on Monday, raising fears that commuters would be forced to live with severe traffic snarls in the coming days. With metro rail construction work already slowing down the movement of the vehicles, enforcement agencies feared that the situation would worsen with arterial roads facing severe congestion.
Check on vehiclesThe Motor Vehicles Department has begun monitoring the movement of the school buses. Senior officials said stringent action would be taken against drivers violating the prescribed speed limit of 40 km per hour. Managements have also been told to set up school cab monitoring committees without delay.
