Students of government and aided schools and their parents said they were feeling relieved following the resumption of in-person classes from Monday after a 57-day extended summer vacation.
The long holiday has done more harm than good, many felt.
The Telegraph finds out the concerns of the parents and students.
Board exam worries
Two Class X students of Sanskrit Collegiate School in north Kolkata said they are worried about the completion of the syllabus because, unlike this year, Madhyamik and higher secondary examinations next year will be held on the entire syllabus.
This year the exams were based on a truncated syllabus because in-person classes could not be held as a precaution against Covid.
“Although our school held online classes, subjects like mathematics and physical science cannot be taught effectively over digital platforms,” said Arpan Dey, a student of Class X.
The government this year had ordered schools, except the ones in the hill districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, to close for the summer recess from May 2 till June 15.
The vacation was later extended till June 26 because of ‘extreme heatwave conditions’.
Usually, the summer vacation in government and aided schools starts on May 18 and continues for 18 days.
Kaushik Byne, a Class XII student, said science subjects in HS covered a huge syllabus and any reduction of in-person classes posed a challenge.
Summative tests
Parents of a Class VIII student of Hare School said his son was worried because the first summative tests could not be held following an early start of the vacation. “It was important that they wrote an in-person examination because they did not undergo any assessment over the past two years,” said Debasish Saha, whose son is in Class VIII in Hare School.
Jayant Bhattacharya, headmaster of Hare School, said they would start the first summative test on June 30.
Worries over uniform
Many students have outgrown their uniforms. On Monday, they arrived in school in old uniforms because the government is yet to deliver age-appropriate uniforms.
Some parents got uniforms stitched. “We got the dress stitched during the vacation,” said a parent.
“Delivery of uniforms to the schools will commence from mid-April and will be completed by mid-June,” said a government order issued in February.