Attendance dips in schools across Noida
NOIDA: As Covid-19 cases, especially among children, continue to rise, private schools in Gautam Budh Nagar district registered a dip in attendance on Monday.
Renu Singh, principal of Amity International School in Noida said that only 60% students turned up on Monday. “Till last week, we had been witnessing over 90% attendance but on Monday, it dipped to about 60%. A large number of parents are concerned regarding the safety of their children after Covid-19 cases were reported among children,” she said, adding that parents should not panic.
“As soon as we find out about a Covid-19 case from parents, we immediately shift that class to online mode and take appropriate measures. Schools are absolutely safe for students,” Singh said.
Aditi Basu Roy, principal at Grads International School in Greater Noida West said, “We were registering over 90% attendance till last week but on Monday the attendance dipped to about 70%. Some parents have also requested us to shift to hybrid or online mode of education but that is not practical at the moment,” she said.
Basu is also the president of the All India Principals’ Association (GB Nagar chapter).
Some schools noticed a dip in attendance of junior and middle students only. “The attendance in classes 9 to 12 has not seen any difference but we have seen a dip in junior and middle school. Parents are concerned after last week’s Covid-19 cases
but we have assured them that we are taking all appropriate measures and schools are safe,” said Arul Raj, principal of Somerville School, Noida
Last week, Khaitan School in Sector 40 reported Covid-19 infection among 13 students and three teachers and switched to online classes.
“We have not yet resumed physical classes and the decision for the same will be taken at a later date. We are carrying out an online mode of education for all classes,” said Bindu Gupta, a representative from Khaitan School.
Snehlata Krishnan, principal of Cambridge School in Greater
Noida, said that the dip in attendance could be due to the long weekend.
“The long weekend, coupled with the ongoing heatwave could have led to a dip in attendance. We have not noticed any Covid-19 scare among parents,” said Krishnan.
Meanwhile, rumour about a student’s death due to Covid-19 at a private school in Noida created panic among parents on Monday morning.
“The district administration received an email from a parent on Monday morning informing that a student at a Noida school died due to Covid-19 and that the administration should issue an order to shut physical classes. However, upon investigation, it was found that the report was completely fake,” said Suhas LY, district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.
Dharmveer Singh, district inspector of schools, Gautam budh Nagar added, “We called the school and it was revealed that there are two students who are Covid-19 positive and both of them are in home isolation and mildly symptomatic. The principal informed us that no student died due to the virus”.
However, the rumour led to many parents deciding not to send their children to school.
“At least 30% of the parents did not send their wards to school on Monday after the rumour about a student’s death. However, except for one, all other schools started physical classes on Monday,” said Manoj Kataria, founder of Gautam Budh Nagar Parents’ Welfare Society. Schools across Noida reopened for physical classes after a long weekend that began on Thursday.