Schools reopen but attendance remains poor in Guwahati

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: School students looked excited as they attended offline classes on Tuesday after a gap of nearly 20 months. However, attendance in schools was poor and many private schools in the city have not resumed physical classes as yet.

A teacher of TC Girls' School in the city said, "Parents are in the wait-and-watch mode. They are scared to send their children to school as kids have not been vaccinated. There are reports that COVID-19 cases are on the rise again. In such a situation, parents are not willing to expose their children to any risk by sending them to school."

Attendance was low not just in schools but also in colleges. Suparna Das, whose daughter is a Class II student of the city's Guru Nanak Senior Secondary School, said, "My daughter's school opened today and from tomorrow their exams are starting. Our kids have not been to school for the past one-and-half years. They need time to get used to the school environment. The school authorities should have given the children time to adjust to the school routine instead of conducting exams from the next day itself. My daughter is scared to go to school, how can she be prepared to sit for the exam? As a parent, I would not have sent my daughter to school if it not had been for the exam. COVID-19 cases are increasing and children are not vaccinated."

A teacher of Gopal Boro Government Higher Secondary School said, "Our school has been properly sanitized. All teachers and staff have been vaccinated and we are following all the SOPs issued by the government. Very less number of students had come to school today but we are hopeful that slowly more and more students will start coming to school."

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