Uttarakhand schools reopen for Classes 10-12, students attendance remain thin

Most schools reopened in Uttarakhand for Classes 10 and 12 on Monday after remaining closed for eight months due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the students’ attendance remained thin. However, many leading schools did not reopen saying they will reopen after Diwali.

The prevailing sense of insecurity among people due to the pandemic reflected in the number of students attending the classes which remained limited to 20 per cent, a school official said. Schools that reopened on Monday strictly followed the COVID-19 guidelines permitting students to enter the premises with their face masks on only after their thermal screening. Prayer assemblies were not held due to social distancing norms.

School buildings were thoroughly sanitised before the gates were thrown open and students who did not come



wearing any face covers were offered masks at the gates. They were allowed to occupy alternate benches inside their classrooms, school authorities here said. Several private schools that did not open on Monday said they will open for Classes 10 and 12 after Diwali.

The state government had recently permitted schools to reopen only for Classes 10 and 12 from November 2 after a cabinet decision to this effect last month. The schools had been instructed to allow only 50 per cent of students to attend the classes everyday wearing masks and maintaining social distancing norms besides sanitisation of hands, classes and school buses transporting them to their schools at regular intervals.

However, parents were unwilling to let their wards resume classes as COVID cases are still on the rise in the state.