BENGALURU: Younger students continued to show lower percentage of attendance when compared to their seniors as schools across the state officially opened to 100 percent attendance for classes six to 10 on Monday.
Students who were present were glad to be back with their friends. Students told TNIE that they were happy to sit close together in schools where the 100 percent attendance was implemented. In some schools, students are yet to be welcomed back at full strength.
Schools still have an option to continue hybrid model of classes — online and offline and several schools are trying to do the same owing to lack of teaching staff. Several staffers had discontinued during the pandemic.
Shashi Kumar, the general secretary of Associated Management of Private Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) explained that finances were weak in several schools owing to poor enrolments.
The attendance in private unaided schools, he said, was good — over 95 percent students turned up in class 9 and 10. Meanwhile, in government schools, the attendance for those classes was as low as 61 percent. This is from the department’s statistics collected from 65 percent of the students.
Students are encouraged to carry their own lunch boxes and water bottles too to school, although the institutes are expected to make arrangements for drinking water.
Among the challenges that will arise with the 100 percent starting of classes offline is maintaining social distancing, said Kumar.
Meanwhile, the department is yet to start midday meal programme, which has seen a pause citing social distancing as an issue.
As for transport, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation assured to add 100 buses to its current fleet of 4953 buses plying in the city.