VELLORE/TIRUVANNAMALAI: Students of Class X and XII feel excited and elated to get back to school after a long gap. They say physical classes break the monotony of online classes where they have little opportunity for interaction with teachers.
The Govt Girls Higher Secondary at Katpadi in Vellore was abuzz with activity breaking the sepulchral peace that prevailed for months. The teachers were as delighted as the students to be back in action.
“As a teacher, I am very happy to see my students back in the school. I become more active when they are around,” says SN Janardhanan, assistant headmaster of the school.
After the formalities of thermal scanning, sanitising hands and ensuring mask compliance, the students were seated as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) laid down by the state government.
The children, who are getting ready for the public examinations due in a few months, find it easier to grasp the lessons during physical classes.
“When I was attending online classes, I had few options to interact with the teachers to seek clarifications. But now with physical classes, it's easier to clear doubts in the subject,” states S Aishwarya, a Class X student.
For S Premalatha, another student, physical classes help break the monotony of remaining at home and attending online classes.
She says, “I felt bad to remain at home all day and watch the classes. Now that I'm back at school, I feel excited and learning has become easy.”
The teachers have a daunting task of handling separate batches of students from the same class. As stipulated, only 25 students are housed in a single classroom unlike earlier.
“We have to teach them separately as students of the same class are sitting in separate batches as per the social distancing norms,” says a teacher.
Officials of the School Education Department have stated that almost 80 per cent students attended classes on day one and hoped the attendance would improve in the next few days.