COVID-19: Chhattisgarh reopens schools for Class 10 and Class 12, attendance thin on the first day

Schools for Class X and XII reopened on Monday in Chhattisgarh with a slew of COVID-19 restrictions, though the attendance, which has been capped at 50 per cent of capacity per day, was thin, especially in urban areas, officials said.

The government has also allowed resumption of Classes I to V and Class VIII subject to certain conditions, including getting a recommendation from the gram panchayats in rural areas, corporators in urban areas and the parents' committees of these schools.

Schools across the state were shut in March this year amid a second wave of coronavirus infections. In an announcement made last week, the state school education department had said schools for Classes X and XII would reopen from August 2 with 50 per cent attendance per day in districts where the positivity rate was 1 per cent for seven days.

It had also said students will attend on alternate days and those exhibiting symptoms of cold, cough or fever would not be allowed inside class, adding that there would be no compulsion to attend these offline sessions as online ones would continue. "The attendance in private schools in urban areas was a lowly 30 per cent. However, the attendance was good in rural areas. In Raipur, in some schools only Class XII resumed on Monday.Teaching in Class X is expected to start from Tuesday," said Rajeev Gupta, President of Chhattisgarh Private Schools Association.

However, Kristopher Paul, president of Chhattisgarh Parents Association, had on Sunday opposed the move of the state government and said it should have waited for some more time as there was the threat of a possible third wave of infections. Schools across the state were shut last year and were allowed to open for Classes IX to XII on February 15 this year after the pandemic ebbed, but classroom teaching was once again shelved in March following a surge in cases.