Calcutta educational institutions weigh resumption options

Principals of several schools said they would seek consent from parents before calling children back to campuses

Schools said online classes and blended learning would have to continue for some time even for the students of Classes IX to XII.: Shutterstock

Jhinuk Mazumdar   |   TT   |   Calcutta   |   03.02.21  : A number of schools said they were ready to resume in-person instructions for half the students of a class, while the other half can continue attending online sessions from home.

The principals of several schools said they would seek consent from parents before calling the children back to the campus.

Schools said online classes and blended learning would have to continue for some time even for the students of Classes IX to XII.

“We have to see what percentage of students will be allowed in the school. We will have to work out a schedule with the teachers so that one group of students attend classes in school and the other group attend online classes,” said Terence Ireland, the principal of St James’ School.

Schools are planning to let half the students of a class, or even fewer, sit in one room and spread out the remaining students in rooms that won’t be occupied in the absence of juniors on the campus.

“In a single classroom we will have 25 to 30 per cent of the original capacity, and we will be using three to four times the number of classrooms they usually occupy,” said Krishna Damani, a trustee of South Point. “Initially, different classes could be allotted different days.”

The director of Sushila Birla Girls’ School said they had planned “live streaming of classes” for those who would stay away from the campus. “In a room there will be half the number of students that originally used to sit,” said Sharmila Bose, the director of Sushila Birla Girls’ School.

Every alternate seat will be vacant, she said.

“We will not give up virtual lessons completely and we have to plan and execute sensibly. It has to be a combination of online and offline classes and then gradually return to normalcy without giving up on the advantages of online mode,” said Devi Kar, the director of Modern High School for Girls.

Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Tuesday that schools could reopen from February 12 for Classes IX to XII.

Many private schools had been waiting for the go-ahead so they could at least call senior students to the campus for practical classes and rehearsal examinations.

“We will start with practicals for students who will write board exams and also some form of pen and paper assessment before the boards,” said Bose.

Many schools will not be open for full duration initially. “We can have four periods a day initially and gradually increase the number of periods after assessing the parents’ response,” said Ireland.

The Heritage School has twice conducted a survey among students and parents as preparation for the reopening. “We did the survey for senior students and found that not more than 50 to 60 per cent of the parents are ready to send their children to school,” said principal Seema Sapru.