Teachers of government schools are splitting classes into smaller groups to ensure physical distancing in the rooms.

Unlike many private schools, government schools will hold all four classes — IX to XII — once campuses reopen on Friday or within days of the reopening.

The state government has allowed reopening of schools for Classes IX to XII from February 12.

Jadavpur Vidyapith has asked students of Classes IX, X and XII to turn up for in-person instruction from Friday. The students of Class X who will write Madhyamik in June will be called after Saraswati Puja, which falls on February 16, to appear in a mock test. (Class X has two batches — one that has been promoted from Class IX and the other that will write Madhyamik this year).

The students of Class XI will be called on Saturday.

Parimal Bhattacharya, the headmaster of the school, said they had drawn up a routine for the first two days. The routine for the subsequent days will be prepared based on the initial experience.

“We have split Class IX into three groups — ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’. While students of section ‘A’ will attend classes into two rooms, the students of section ‘B’ and ‘C’ will attend classes online after the in-person classes end. The students of Class X, too, have been split into sections. This will help us avoid crowding,” Bhattacharya said.

An assistant teacher said the sections would take turns in attending in-person and online classes.

The students of Class XII, who will come to the campus to attend practicals, have been split into sections B and C. This will enable them to attend classes in smaller groups.

“The students of Class XI will be split into 10 sections and each section will be assigned a room,” said Bhattacharya.

As the classes from V and VIII are not being held, there will not be any problem resulting from splitting the senior classes into smaller sections.

At Uttarpara Government School, the students of all classes are being called on the first day.

A teacher said they would think about splitting the classes into smaller sections based on the actual turnout.

“If only a few students of Classes IX and X turn up, we may not have to split them into sections. If the turnout is normal, we may have to do so. Allocating extra rooms won’t be a problem because classes between V and VIII are not being held,” said Saugata Basu, an assistant teacher of the school.

Kazi Masum Akhtar, the headmaster of Katjunagar Swarnamayee Vidyapith in Jadavpur, said they, too, would call students of Classes IX to XII.

“We will affix the roll number of every student on each bench. If a student on the first bench sits on the right, the student of the next bench will sit on the left,” he said.