Schools may start academic year with online classes

Considering the rising number of COVID-19 cases, staterun schools may have to function online even if they start the academic year in the next three to four months, according to city school authorities. School principals and teachers claim it is not possible to maintain social distancing in classrooms as there are large number of students per class while the space is limited. State-run schools are mulling the start of the academic year which usually begins by mid-June. Kiran Joshi, manager of a Bandra School, said, "The situation seems quite bleak which makes it difficult to start schools from mid-June. Even if we start classes anytime soon, we will have to resort to online education. We are waiting for specific instructions from the state government."

Unlike western countries, we cannot begin school with social distancing norms nor do we have the bandwidth to conduct regular online classes for a large number students, claimed Ashwini Khatri, principal of an Andheri school. Khatri said, "We have over 50 to 60 students per class where there is limited space. How are we supposed to maintain physical distance between students amidst such space constraints? We cannot risks the health and security of students and staff." Teachers of both Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and state-run schools have been directed to conduct classes online. Tarun Chaudhary, a civic school teacher, said, "We have been directed to conduct regular online classes on a daily basis." While, Mahima Chavan, a teacher of a state-board school at South Mumbai, said, "We hope the state government and school authorities provide us with required equipments and services for online classes. We are learning new virtual methods every day in order to avoid any academic loss to students."