The state government has selected parks and playgrounds where classes will be held for primary and pre-primary students of government schools from February 7.
This is the first attempt to start in-person classes for students from pre-primary to Class V since March 2020, when all campuses were shut down for an indefinite period to prevent students and others from getting infected with the coronavirus.
In-person classes for students of classes IX to XII resumed twice since, only to be suspended again following a renewed surge in Covid cases.
Sources in the education department said that primarily it had been decided that classes of the primary section of Sakhawat Memorial Government Girls’ High School and another school would be held at Allen Park at the intersection of Park Street and Camac Street in the central business district of Kolkata.
Hindu School, Hare School and Sanskrit Collegiate School will likely to have their classes for the youngest learners at the Hare School ground in north Kolkata.
Education minister Bratya Basu had on January 24 said classes would be held in the open as part of the department’s “Paray Sikshalay (neighbourhood school)” initiative to bring primary and pre-primary students out of their homes.
The initiative will cover 6,52,682 students.
Sources said a proposal to hold classes in the open space on the school premises and community halls in the neighbourhood was under consideration because several schools heads had pointed out at a virtual meeting with the inspectors of schools on Saturday that it would be difficult to arrange for water and toilets at parks.
The meeting decided that the schools, to be clustered under circles, would not bring more than 40 students at a time and classes would be split into multiple slots so that the physical distancing norm, a key component of the Covid protocol, could be maintained.
“Special care is being taken of the primary and pre-primary students because they are yet to be vaccinated,” said an official.
The head of a primary school in central Kolkata said at Saturday’s meeting that those representing schools highlighted that it would be difficult to run classes at parks and on playgrounds with bio-toilets.
“Bio-toilets are alright for a day or two, not more than that. Then there is the issue of arranging drinking water for the students and teachers. Community halls and grounds on the school premises can be a better option,” the headmaster said.
Another teacher said the department should consider the proposal of holding classes on the school premises for the safety of the students, too. “It would be easier for us to monitor the students if classes are held in an open space in the school compound,” he said.
“It has been decided that at any given point of time, up to 40 students could be brought for the class to avoid large gatherings. If five schools are clustered, each can send no more than eight students in one slot,” said an official in the Kolkata district primary school council.
“The four-hour class schedule in a day (from 11am to 3pm) will have to be split into two or three slots so the cap on the numbers could be enforced. Each student will be required to come twice a week,” he said.
An official of the department said a detailed guideline on how to attend classes will be issued by February 4.
