PATNA: Schools reopened for offline classes for standards 9 to 12 with full capacity across Bihar on Monday in the wake of the decline in COVID-19 cases in the state, officials said.
Physical classes resumed with 50 per cent attendance up to standard 8 and strict adherence to COVID-19 standard operating guidelines issued by the State Disaster Management Authority in all schools of the state, they said.
The Bihar government had on Sunday announced the reopening of the schools, colleges, coaching institues and other educational institutions from Monday.
Educational institutes had been closed in Bihar since January 6 due to the spike in COVID-19 cases in the state.
Some schools in Patna saw a low attendance, while others witnessed good turnout of the attendance of students on Monday.
Teachers, however, said the attendance of students in both private and government schools was low but expected it to pick up in the coming days.
The day's activities in most schools included discussions on the coming board examinations and an orientation session to acquaint students with COVID appropriate behavior.
Director of Manava Bharati International School, Patna, Pradeep Mishra told PTI "Children were very excited to be back in schools on Monday after the closure of almost a month due to the coronavirus pandemic...We are strictly following the COVID-19 protocol. All classrooms have already been sanitised and proper seating arrangements have been made in each classes to maintain social distance. We also organized orientation sessions to acquaint students with COVID appropriate behavior."
Jay Prakash Verma, president of Himalayan Group of Education, told PTI, "Online is no alternative to offline classes. Students were really happy when they came to attend classes today...Students up to class 8 will attend classes on alternate days and will have to maintain proper social distancing in the school premises."
Raghavendra Rai, a class 9 student, said he is happy to return to school after a long gap and thanked the school administration for making necessary arrangements to ensure safety of the pupils.