Most schools plan to reopen on November 8, after Diwali break

With the Delhi government on Wednesday allowing public and private schools to reopen in the capital for all classes from Monday (November 1), most schools said they are likely to reopen only after Diwali (November 4) so that they have the time to plan the reopening and also avoid a break right after reopening. Currently, only students of classes 9 to 12 are allowed back in school for in-person lessons.

Although in-person classes resumed twice in the past 19 months, most recently in September, they have only been for students of classes 9 to 12 and this is the first time since March last year that students of primary classes have been allowed to return to schools.

While welcoming the government’s decision on Wednesday, most stakeholders said arranging transport and continuing with blended learning will be huge challenges for schools as well as ensuring that students from primary classes follow Covid appropriate behaviour at all times.

Sudha Acharya, chairperson of the National Progressive School Conference (NPSC), which has 122 Delhi schools as members, said they welcome the decision as many parents had been enquiring about the reopening.Several top schools in the city, including Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Bal Bharati Public School, Springdales School, Sanskriti School, Delhi Public Schools, Ahlcon International School, and Amity International School, are NPSC members.

School authorities said they will reopen from November 8 so that students get time to arrange uniforms and join in-person classes after the Diwali break.

“NPSC held a general body meeting today (Wednesday) and while some schools may open from Monday, most of us are ready to reopen from November 8, after the festive season. Since the government has allowed school buses to operate, it will help boost daily attendance. Currently, several students are taking public transport to schools or arranging carpools. We also plan to call in different class sections on alternate days so that each student gets to attend school at least three times a week,” said Acharya, principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka.

Acharya said for her school, she will combine some of the bus routes as a few parents have opted out of school transport facilities. “We will combine different routes and run five buses instead of seven, if the number of students from a particular locality is fewer. Another concern raised in the meeting was regarding blended learning as that puts more burden on teachers and schools that may not have the infra support to conduct lessons in blended mode,” she said.

Madhulika Sen, senior adviser, Tagore International School, said arranging transport will be a major challenge. “With only 50% seating capacity on buses, the expenses for transport facilities will go up and we will have to see if parents are willing to pay for that. Also, another problem will be timing. If we have staggered timings for entry/exit of different classes and sections, it will be challenging to run bus services to accommodate everyone,” she said.

Vandana Tiwari, English teacher at The Indian School, said, “Managing online classes while students are in the classroom will be an issue. Sometimes, the internet doesn’t work and students sitting at home find it difficult to follow the lessons. If we have masks on in classrooms, those logging in from home don’t understand us unless we speak loudly, which is a little tiring. We may have to boost internet and have more devices if all classes join in. Ensuring 50% seating in classrooms and calling all children to school also requires planning and that will take some time.”

Malini Narayanan, principal of Army Public School in Shankar Vihar, said some parents may be wary of sending children to school. “For now, 50% students will come to school and the remaining 50% will learn from home. Schools are working on a plan to get children back to a safe environment and that will be largely dependent on the consent from parents. The kind of routine we will follow will depend on this. Children are coming after a long time and they will be excited. Getting them to follow protocols will be a challenge,” she said.