West Bengal schools reopen today (representational image)
Several schools in the city resumed physical classes for senior students on Thursday, in accordance with the directions of West Bengal government, while some others have decided to open their campuses later this month only after ensuring that all COVID-related safety measures are in place.
South Point High School, one of the reputed institutes here, commenced classes for students of 9 and 11, while those of 10 and 12 have been told to register their attendance starting Monday, its spokesperson Krishna Damani told PTI.
Students of Class 8 will be attending school from February 16, he said.
Two La Martiniere schools for boys and girls, both known for academic excellence, will start imparting on-campus lessons to students of classes 8 to 12 from February 7, its secretary Supriyo Dhar said.
School authorities, however, would be holding classes in hybrid mode -- both online and offline -- to avoid crowding, Mr Dhar said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier this week announced that physical classes would resume in schools from February 3 for students of 8 to 12, in view of the improvement in the pandemic situation.
An official at G D Birla Centre for Education said that most senior students attended school on Thursday.
"Those unwilling to attend physical classes can log in virtually," he said.
Similarly, Arijit Mitra, the principal of Nava Nalanda, that the state board-affiliated school will open its campuses on February 11 after "fine-tuning" all COVID-19 measures.
Mr Mitra said that the school was hopeful that its senior students would get vaccinated before physical classes resume.
Abhishek Kumar Yadav, the academic director of Griffins International School, maintained that a virtual meeting will be arranged with parents to allay their fears before classes resume on February 7.
"We want the campus to be ready to welcome students and teachers. We will be holding a virtual meeting with the parents to allay fears, if any, as Class 8 students aren't vaccinated.
"We are also planning to have activities, open classrooms to help children get acclimatised to regular classroom schedule," he added.
Educationist Pabitra Sarkar said suspension of classes has adversely affected students in many ways over the past two years.
"I am not sure if the whole issue is being treated in a well-calibrated manner or with a hasty approach by the state government, given that the pandemic isn't over yet. It is also equally true that cessation of on-campus activities did take a heavy toll on the education and well-being of students," Mr Sarkar said.
Students' organisations, the SFI and the ABVP, have hailed the chief minister's decision to commence classes for students of senior sections and both claimed credit for the government's move.
"We will carry on intense agitation in the coming days to ensure that all classes resume on-campus activities," ABVP state secretary Saptarshi Sarkar said.
Srijan Bhattacharya, the SFI state general secretary, claimed that "due to the organisation's sustained agitation, the TMC-run government had to take this decision."
Schools and colleges in Bengal have largely remained shut since March 16 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Institutes had briefly opened in February and November last year only to close down again as number of infections kept soaring across the state.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)