Hundreds of children in flood-hit areas of Kerala miss out on the first few days of school

Even as the Kerala government announced the reopening of schools from November 1, hundreds of students in different parts of flood-hit Kuttanad in Alappuzha were not back on school benches on the first day.

Anusree P, a Class X student of the Government High School at Kuppapuram in Kainakary gram panchayat in Kuttanad, was eagerly awaiting to mingle with her friends at school. "After several months of online learning, I was looking forward to going to school on Monday. After all, it would have been nice to be in a classroom, talking to friends and attending offline classes. But I will have to wait. My school premises remain waterlogged and the authorities postponed the reopening," Anusree told The Hindu.

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While a number of schools in Kuttanad reopened on November 1, authorities delayed the opening of 40 institutions, including 10 high schools in the region, due to waterlogging. The daily reported that on the same day, there was knee-deep water at the 106-year-old Government High School, Kuppapuram. The school headmaster, Ajithkumar P, said, “I joined the school on June 1, 2020, and I am yet to meet all the students together. We were planning to welcome students back to the school on Monday, but the prevailing conditions forced us to delay the opening."

He added, "We are planning to start classes for students of Class X on Wednesday after obtaining approval from the higher authorities. If floodwaters recede, the school will start functioning normally from next week.” VR Shyla, Deputy Director of Education, Alappuzha, said schools that remained shut would be reopened after assessment of the flood situation and cleaning.