Private schools record dip in attendance, revert to online classes

Emergence of Omicron variant has fuelled fears of parents

Many private school managements have decided to revert to online classes after they recorded a significant dip in attendance on Monday. Parents are worried about clusters of COVID-19 infections cropping up in educational institutions, said school principals. Uncertainty of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has also fuelled fears. Some schools announced that physical classes would resume in January, while others have postponed it indefinitely.

Lokesh Talikatte, State unit president, Recognised Unaided Private Schools’ Association, Karnataka, said that its affiliated schools had stopped offline classes. “After many media reports, parents are worried and are not keen on sending their children to school. We had to restart online classes in many schools, particularly in Bengaluru,” he said.

In a message to parents, Swargarani School in Rajarajeshwari Nagar informed parents that the school management had decided to continue with only online classes from December 1; there would be no offline classes. “We are glad that the school took this decision. Although the school follows all the precautions, we think it’s risky to send our children back as they are not vaccinated,” said a parent.

Mansoor Ali Khan, member, board of management, Delhi Public Group of Schools, said that they had initially decided to begin offline classes on January 3. “We will now, however, postpone it indefinitely till the situation gets better,” he said, adding that they will stick to online classes for the time being.

Sumanth Narayan, founder of Shanthinikethana School, said that he consulted pediatricians and is considering a proposal to conduct classes for only half a day. “We are however in a dilemma as we are torn between protecting students’ health and their academics. If we conduct classes only for half a day, the learning gap among students which is now being addressed by teachers, will increase further,” he said.

Government-run schools do not have the luxury of reverting to online classes. Nagasimha G. Rao, Director of Child Rights Trust, said it was imperative for the Government to chalk out an academic plan for their students in the event that schools are asked to shut again. “The Government needs to rope in youth clubs and the School Development and Monitoring Committee to find a solution. It cannot afford to wait and watch and not repeat the same mistake made last academic year.”

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