On Monday, a Class I student at B.E.T. Convent, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, initially refused to go into her classroom, saying it looked different from how it did on her computer screen.
Her teacher intervened, showed her classmates, and said that she was free to sit anywhere in the room. It was only then that she was persuaded to go into the brick-and-mortar classroom.
After months of logging onto online classes and seeing their teachers and classmates virtually, students bid adieu to their computers and mobiles and stepped onto the school campuses, many for the first time, on Monday as Classes I to V reopened.
The Department of Public Instruction said that attendance on day one ranged between 23% and 27% for Classes I to V. However, about 60% of the total 62,032 schools did not enter data on attendance.
S. Sathyamurthy, president, Karnataka Unaided School Managements’ Association, said as many students were attending classes for the first time, they took time to understand the dos and dont’s in the school. “We wanted students to get used to the physical classes and we did not teach lessons. Teachers in fact showed them the school campus and told them how physical classes would pan out,” he said.
Aditi Kalabavi, a Class II student from St Joseph’s School in Belagavi, seemed visibly excited. “I am very happy as I will be meeting many friends in school. I am excited as there would be games period,” she said.
On the other hand, K. Charvi, a student of Class II in a private school in Hassan, was nervous on the first day. She expected her parents to be around during her classes. However, she enjoyed the company of her classmates during lunchtime. “I met my classmates for the first time. We played together. I will attend classes regularly,” she said.
Though parents and teachers had repeatedly instructed students to maintain a physical distance from classmates and wear a mask, these rules were hardly followed as the classes continued. Teachers had the tough task of making students follow the restrictions.
Pruhtvik, a Class I student, said the mask was irritating him. “I was not wearing a mask for online classes. Now I have to. But, there are many friends here,” he said.
Pranav Ainapur was looking forward to going to school. However, the Class V student in Belagavi was forced to skip school on Monday for a different reason: his old uniform did not fit as he has grown taller in two years. “We did not prepare for it. In the morning, when he tried to wear it, we realised it did not fit. We went out to buy a shirt and trousers for him in the afternoon. He will go to school tomorrow,” said Savani Ainapur, his mother.
