Mumbai: 79 Municipal Schools Yet To Restart In-Person Classes For Grades 8 To 10

Data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) highlighted that ten days into the reopening of schools in Mumbai for grades 8 to 12, 79 civic schools still haven’t begun teaching classes in school premises, reported the Hindustan Times. From an aggregate of 867 civic schools in the island city for grades 8 to 10, 788 have opened their premises for pupils. The rest haven’t been able to follow this trend since they accommodate vaccination or quarantine centres for COVID-19 or have structural repair works going on that the schools undertook during the lockdown, highlighted the report.

From the aggregate 71,783 students registered in classes 8 to 10 in the 867 municipal schools, on Thursday, 24,023 students attended in-person classes, the others chose online classes, elucidated the statistics, stated the account.

The report quoted a senior civic official from the BMC’s education department saying that the attendance of pupils varies, with some choosing to attend classes in person for a few days and online for the rest, with educational establishments been allowed to undertake lectures alternatively for various grades, to see to it that social distancing is followed.

To ensure that schools can begin, assistant commissioners of wards wherein schools are used as vaccination or quarantine centre have been asked to move those centres to other possible locations. The account also quoted a deputy municipal commissioner whose zone has a large number of slums wherein schools had vaccination centres. Adding that it becomes arduous to find another location in such an area, thus they are locating open spaces to put temporary structures to move the centres there.

Schools that accommodated vaccination or quarantine centres may commence again by early next week, others, where construction activity is being conducted, may take longer, with the education department official mentioning how student’s safety takes precedence. Elaborating that, buildings have been shortlisted where classes can begin in adjoining classrooms, with repairs in the vicinity. Others may remain closed for the rest of the month till the construction activities are completed. 

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