SFI, the students’ wing of the CPM, on Monday welcomed the state government’s decision to reopen educational institutions from February 3, claiming credit for their sustained movement to demand physical classes.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced schools from Classes VIII to XII, colleges and universities would resume physical classes from February 3, while students from Classes V-VII would attend the government’s “Paray Pathshala” initiative. The decision was taken as the Covid situation has improved.

SFI supporters celebrated this decision as their success with aabir and rallies.

“It is definitely the success of our movement. But today’s celebration was partial. The real celebration will be held in Kalighat when the state government throws open classes for students of Classes I to VII and stops the mockery of arrangements such as Paray Pathshala,” said SFI state committee president Pratikur Rahaman.

The SFI has been agitating for over a year to demand resumption of classroom teaching, claiming their survey had shown that shut schools had led to a number of dropouts, particularly in villages.

Rahaman said: “It is unfortunate that the state government took so much time to realise the loss.”

The government’s decision came on a day the SFI had given the call for a statewide civil disobedience movement to demand the reopening schools and colleges in Bengal.

At Barasat in North 24-Parganas, the police allegedly caned an SFI rally when some tried to enter the DM’s office. Seven SFI activists were arrested in Barasat, while in Dumdum 43 SFI activists, including SFI state committee president Rahaman, state secretary Srijan Bhattacharyya, general secretary Mayukh Biswas and state committee member Rana Roy were arrested.

To protest police action, SFI supporters blocked Jessore Road near Dumdum airport and in front of Calcutta University near College Street causing a traffic snarl. Police dragged them away to clear the road.

In Santiniketan, SFI leaders on Monday breached the barricade to reach the main gate of the central administrative office of Visva-Bharati and submit their plea to open the campus.

After an agitation of over half an hour, varsity’s registrar Ashish Agrawal reached out to the students to accept their memo demanding opening of campus.

“It has become a tradition in Visva-Bharati to lock the gate to block the students. Today we were forced to jump over a fence to reach the central office. We are happy as the registrar came and listened to our demand,” said Somnath Sow, a SFI leader in Visva-Bharati.