As schools reopened for Classes 10 and 12 after nearly 10 months on Tuesday, many schools registered thin attendance as the students hesitated to attend the regular classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials from the Department of School Education that out of 653 government, aided and private high and higher secondary schools in the district which remained closed since March 2020, 632 schools reopened on Tuesday. Out of the 86,222 students of Class 10 and Class 12, only 42,706 students – about 49.53% – attended the regular classes on the first day in Coimbatore district.
While all government and aided schools reopened, a section of the private schools in the district did not reopen on Tuesday. These schools are yet to complete their arrangements for students and have intimated the Chief Educational Office regarding their revised reopening dates, the officials said. “The private schools which have not reopened will do so in a day or two,” said R. Visalakshi, president of Tamil Nadu Private Schools’ Association.
Within the Coimbatore Corporation limits, the government schools with a large number of students in Class 10 and 12 made the students to attend the classes based on their sections and groups to prevent overcrowding, officials said. All government, aided and Corporation schools and most of the private schools were reopened as per the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the State government and no issues were reported, according to the officials.
The government and aided schools in hilly regions in and around Pollachi saw over 60% attendance of Class 12 and 10 students, the officials said. Some schools located in areas with low frequency of government buses were low were advised to leave their students early to prevent them from being stranded.
“It is exciting to go back to school,” said S. Suhitha, a Class 10 student from an aided school in the city. Despite putting up with regulations such as not sharing food or water, physical distancing norms inside the classrooms, lack of physical education classes and wearing of masks, meeting her friends after 10 months made her glad, she said.
A. Jansi, a Class 12 student from VCV Government Higher Secondary School in Vellakinar in the outskirts of the city, said that she had apprehensions initially about going to the school amid the pandemic but overcame it later. “We could not study properly in our homes. At least in the school, we will study because of the fear we have of teachers,” she said. Ms. Jansi expressed hope that the regulations are only temporary and that things will go back to how they were before COVID-19.
Around 400 government, aided and private schools reopened across Tiruppur district. Officials said that the schools reported around 60% of attendance on an average as more students are yet to attend the classes. The SOPs were carried out in all the schools in Tiruppur district, according to the officials.
