Amid a drop in coronavirus cases in the city, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday decided to reopen schools as well as higher education institutions and coaching centers for classes 9-12 from February 7. It also decided to reopen schools for students from nursery. From February 14 to class 8.
Children were seen wearing masks on their return to school. In a private school, students’ bags were being sanitized as a precaution against COVID-19. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to share some pictures of welcoming children in various schools.
He tweeted in Hindi, “Glad to see the kids back in school. They too are disappointed. I pray that schools don’t need to be closed again.”
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also visited some schools and interacted with the students.
He said in a tweet, “Delhi schools are finally open now. With the return of the children, Vaibhav is back again.”
Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, said, “Children’s education has suffered a lot due to the closure of schools due to Covid. Of course, online classes helped us continue with our children’s education during the pandemic, but online The mode of learning can never replace offline learning. We are in alert mode. It will be ensured that all schools strictly follow the COVID-19 protocol and social distancing norms.”
Some private schools did not open on Monday.
“We have to reopen now because there are so many modalities. Board classes are close to their exams, so attendance is going to be low. Also, it is difficult to provide transportation for students, so we are still on the details. We are working. We will have a plan in two days,” said the vice principal of a top private school.
Schools in the city were briefly reopened before closing again on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by Omicron Edition.
Simran, a Class 12 student of a government school in Tilak Nagar, said, “It feels good to be back after a long time. When the order to reopen schools came, our parents were apprehensive as the coronavirus cases were still there. were appearing but we convinced them to send us to school. In online classes, we can understand things but the physical way of teaching is better because we don’t forget what is taught in the class.”
Her teacher Roopa Rajput said, “Today the attendance is 50 per cent. I think it will increase by tomorrow. With schools being closed for a long time, students have forgotten the exercise of getting up early and coming to school. With online classes , they can just wake up late and log in. Exams are near and resumption of offline classes will help us to complete the syllabus.”
While the Center has removed mandatory parental consent for students to physically attend schools from its guidelines and left it to the states, the Delhi government has decided to continue with it.
There is no cap on 50 per cent student strength and schools are free to decide the number of students based on their infrastructure so as to adhere to the COVID-19 protocols.
“I am excited. Our school has decided to resume classes from Wednesday as many arrangements need to be made. They will offer hybrid classes. I am confused whether to go to individual classes or take online classes because Also, there is no update on school transport services,” said Harsh, a class 10 student of Bhajanpura.
Priyanshu Singh, a student of a government school in Dilshad Garden, said, “We are looking forward to attend the school as the final exams are approaching. The pandemic has not only affected our daily lives but our studies as well. prefers to study offline instead of online classes.”
Jaideep Singh, a Class 9 student studying in a Delhi government-run school in Lajpat Nagar, said, “Same story for two-and-a-half years. Schools reopened and closed again after some time. Rise in Covid cases. But online Over all, I would prefer offline classes as I get a chance to clear my doubts and of course meet my friends as well.”
Pooja Singh, a student of a Delhi government school, said, “Reading while doing online has become a chore, but offline it feels like we are actually studying. We have a routine, feel refreshed, doubt on time.” Better focus on getting away. I hope the government doesn’t close any schools again.”
Colleges are set to reopen from Monday with the DDMA deciding against online classes and higher education in the national capital now going completely offline.
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