In post-pandemic classroom, schools search for ‘missing’ students

Many students are still stuck in their hometowns while some have either dropped out or are considering it

When the pandemic struck and his school switched to online mode of teaching, it was not easy for eight-year-old Srikant (name changed) to stay away from the classroom ambience. Amid the struggle to get himself acquainted with the new normal, the only consolation was that he could continue living in the city.

Then a tragedy occurred in April 2021 when he lost his father to Covid-19. With the sole breadwinner gone, the family of five had a hard time making ends meet, and they decided to relocate to their hometown in Uttar Pradesh.

That was virtually the end of his education, or so has it appeared till now.

Since then, a lot has changed and the city has regained its previous momentum. The students are back in classroom with the new academic year touching the halfway mark. But there is no sign of Srikant, a class 3 student of a private unaided school in Kurla.

When one of his teachers reached out to him and wanted to know if he had enrolled himself with a school there, Srikant said there was no school in his village and the one in the neighbouring village would cost him ₹500 a month.

“Money is not the problem as his uncle is willing to bear the expenses, but Srikant is adamant about coming back to his school. However, his mother doesn’t want to return to Mumbai,” the teacher said.

There are at least nine other students who are waiting to return to the classroom and their friends but are still stuck in their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat, the teacher added.

This is the situation with many city schools grappling with the pandemic’s aftereffects. The best the school authorities could do, and some of them are doing, is to counsel the students and their parents about the importance of education.

In search of jobs

In October, two class 9 students - Ajay and Ahmed (names changed) - did not return home after their school in Sion. A search by the teachers, principal, parents, and police went in vain. Surprisingly, both boys came home by themselves the following night.

When questioned by the principal, the duo said since they were not getting adequate food at home or the things they wanted, they went in search of employment.

“They were offered ₹10,000 by a factory owner at Mankhurd. They even got a month’s salary, but returned home as they couldn’t get a place to stay,” the principal said.

Jaywant Kulkarni, a teacher and counsellor at Gandhi Bal Mandir in Kurla, said there are so many Ajays and Ahmeds out there.

“After the pandemic, the social order has completely collapsed even though the picture is looking good. We have started moving faster than before. But somebody needs to think that the situation is very serious at grassroots level,” he said.

Tired of education

At a school in Sion, students of classes 8, 9 and 10 are tired of sitting in the classroom and are thinking of leaving the school, the principal said.

“Sir, after studying online for two years, I am getting bored of education. I don’t want to read and write anymore. So, we are thinking of dropping out,” one of the students said.

Following a counselling session, 12 of the 15 students are back in the classroom. Meanwhile, the parent of a student has written to the principal not to fill out the application form for his child’s class 10 examination.

Jagdish Indalkar, principal, Jain Society’s Lion M P Bhuta Sion Sarvajanik School, said, “We tried to connect the parents with the teachers so that the children come back to the school. We even organised garba on Navratri where we explained to the parents about the importance of education.”

Many slum children are not good in academics but are adept at pottery and mobile repairs among others, Indalkar said. “We are organising an exhibition where the students can showcase their products and earn some money.”

Pandurang Kengar, headmaster of Lokmanya Tilak School, Tilaknagar, said students from poor families can’t afford even uniforms.

“Our organisation leaders raised funds, and provided uniforms and other materials to the students for free,” he said, adding 2% of the students are yet to come back from their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Farida Lambay, co-founder of NGO Pratham, said many families suffered a financial loss because of the pandemic, and even if they had started working again, their income had drastically come down.

“It has had an impact on their children’s schooling. We should have a mental helpline since many families have experienced illnesses and fatalities during the pandemic as a result of which youngsters are still traumatised. When schools reopened after Covid-19, teachers and school administration did a good job of greeting students, but there are still areas where we need to improve,” Lambay said.