Back to School: A week into in-person classes, hesitancy, hope and assurances in the air

Ever since schools reopened in Mumbai a week ago, city-based teacher Neha Jain has had mixed feelings of excitement and confusion. That is because she has returned to a different kind of classroom - one where some students are present in person while others attend online.

"The transition to a new blended classroom needs more planning to ensure a smooth transition," says the Class 8 teacher. "In spite of many challenges, it is overwhelming to see kids back in the school building after almost one and a half years," adds a relieved Jain.

Schools have opened in person for the first time since the pandemic took hold in March 2020. Wearing a mask throughout disrupts breathing and hinders the voice, teachers like Jain are finding, and sitting without air conditioning in the heat of October is another challenge. Yet, as challenging as it has been to go back to a level of normalcy after months of online teaching, finally being in the classroom again has felt positive.

Learning how to simultaneously manage students attending class physically along with those attending online will take time, says Jain, but dwells on the positives: the readiness of students and the staff to comply with the new safety rules set by the government.

While some parents are understandably hesitant and conflicted about sending their children back to school, others are happy that they can get back to the routine. A Dadar-based parent, who does not wish to be named, says the classes are still being conducted online and she wishes her son, a Class 11 state board student, could go back to school full-time soon.

"I would prefer them to attend rather than having the online classes because I have seen the difference between physical and online classes. In-person teaching is better because interaction with teachers and friends makes them feel independent and responsible too," she explains. She shares that parents in the city would be more at ease if their children are vaccinated soon, so that they could resume physical schooling.

Elsewhere, an Andheri-based parent who was hesitant to send her daughter to school was advised by the teachers to let her attend school in person because she is in Class 10, a milestone year, and she should get the best possible experience to focus on her academics. Convinced, the parent who also requested not to be named is going to start slowly. She fears that her daughter hasn't got the vaccine yet, while her daughter is worried about the likelihood of a third wave. The city-based parent would have liked education authorities to be more considerate and clear in their decisions for the academic year.

Another Andheri-based parent, who requested anonymity, is keen to send her son to school for the same reasons as many other parents, who believe it would be better for children to learn in the classroom environment. While her son managed to attend only one day in the last week due to a non-Covid infection, the fact that her son is looking forward to attending school and meeting his friends and teachers has convinced her to send him back once he is healthy again.

The government's Covid-19 protocols include sanitising the premises before and after school. Measures such as contactless screening of temperature of students at entry points, wearing masks and sending back students who show symptoms of the virus and allocated isolation spaces have been put into place on the premises. In the first week, most state board schools asked for consent notes and performed temperature checks every morning. No tests were mandated, except for students joining after outstation travel.

International schools have taken further steps. The Aditya Birla World Academy in Tardeo resumed classes only for Class 11 and 12 with a hybrid learning model. Each grade attends every alternate day.

School principal Radhika Sinha explains, "We have made it mandatory for the students as well as teachers to present a negative RT-PCR report each week, even though more than 90 per cent of our teaching and non-teaching staff are fully vaccinated." The school is using fans instead of air-conditioning in every classroom, while also keeping the cafeteria shut and using the lift to a bare minimum.

It is hard to ignore the mental impact of this transition. Sinha's school had a mentor check-in session to understand how students feel about getting back to school, and has been encouraging them to reach out to the counsellors at school.

Also Read: How parents and students can prepare for in-person classes in the new normal