Some schools are recording thin attendance in classes IX to XII because many students of this age group from poor families have taken up menial jobs to support their families amid the pandemic, teachers said.
Schools in the state were allowed to reopen on February 3 for classes VIII to XII following a sharp fall in Covid cases.
The heads of multiple schools said attendance in classes IX to XII varied between 50 and 60 per cent.
The school heads are sending teachers to the homes of the absentee students to persuade them to return to class.
“The teachers who visited the homes of absentee students found that many have started working as help in hotels or garment shops. They are no longer interested in studying,” said Supriya Panja, headmaster of The Park Institution, in north Kolkata, where a large number of students are from slums.
“The loss of income suffered by the families because of pandemic-induced curbs forced many parents to send their children to work. There is no incentive for them to resume studies.”
Panja said the attendance in the senior classes never crossed 60 per cent in the fortnight since the reopening.
Another reason why families are not keen on sending their children back to school is that students from classes IX to XII are not covered by the midday meal scheme, a teacher said.
Santu Das (name changed on request), a Class XII student of the school, said his family’s financial hardships forced him to work as a salesman of a company that produces potato chips.
Tarun Chakroborty, headmaster of Ultadanga United High School, said attendance in the senior classes was about 40 per cent.
“When I sent teachers to track the absentee students, many could not be found. Neighbours said the families returned to their native states as they were unable to afford the rent,” Chakraborty said.