The students are attending classes online and downloading videos and notes emailed by the teachers. They may not be coming over to the school but their education is on. Some students may not be able to get online due to connectivity problems but they are being helped by their teachers. This seems to be the new normal. But then with the number of cases increasing by the day, the near future looks rather bleak with regards to the possibility of students returning to school for onsite instruction. The newly appointed Education Director Santosh Amonkar had ruled out the possibility of schools reopening in August given the present situation. The general feeling is that it could possibly open in September depending on how the situation was at that moment in time. How then would schools in Goa react to classes being conducted on the premises?
Options in the air: Half the class to turn up, the other half logs on and both batches alternate each day
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Sindhu Hemant, Principal Sunshine Worldwide School Goa Velha said nothing had been decided as yet and they were waiting for the guidelines to come from the authorities. She, however, maintained that online instruction was going on in full swing. She said “We have around two to three lectures online followed by a break. All the sops are in place and we are ready. We will have social distancing and all the norms that are required now”. She added that since the school had a limited number of students in each class numbering 30, it would be easy to organise everything. She said they would allow a group of fifteen students to attend class one day and the rest would attend online and the next day it would alternate.
Bring the senior classes in first and test the waters. The juniors can come much later
Sidharthi Netrvalkar, Principle, People’s High School Fontainhas, Mala said they were conducting online classes and they had adjusted to the new reality. She said “Teaching students in a classroom is a joy which cannot be described but the situation we are in is such we have to live with this reality. We had a parents-teacher meeting online and the parents were happy with the online instruction”. She said as of now they had not received any sops from the department which would have to come from the center. But she was of the opinion that it would make a lot of sense to bring in the senior classes first to the school once the situation improved and then studied the reaction. This could then help them to come up with sops that would help everyone. The students in the lower classes she felt could come in much later depending on the situation on the ground.
Let the situation improve, will decide on reopening then
The Principal of Don Bosco Higher Secondary School Panjim, Fr Evan Carvalho felt it would be up to the parents to decide when classes could be held in school. He said “In June we took their opinion and I am sure even the department will not overrule the wishes of the parents. Online classes are being conducted by the teachers, so the students don’t suffer. Once the situation improves, we shall talk and then decide. Till then we shall remain closed”.
Changes in infrastructure like a sanitizing tunnel will be made, decision on sporting events to be taken
The challenges vary from school to school. Kripa Desai, Principal of the ARDEE SCHOOL (SENIOR) Sangolda felt that since they were a boutique school, their numbers were small per class. They had gone online in March itself and since they were a Microsoft school it was not a problem. She said “Given our numbers, social distancing will be easy. Once the situation improves on the ground, we will have a conversation with the parents and decide in a couple of months perhaps. We will then have to make several changes to our school infrastructure like constructing a sanitizing tunnel. Today all our subjects are taught online. However, once we return to school, we will have to see how to conduct sporting events. We will anyway wait for the directives from the education department.”
Kids up to class 4 to stay at home. Classes 5 to 7 and 8 to 10 to function on alternate days
Organising all this may be easier in the cities but even schools in rural Goa will have to follow all the sops and will face the same challenges. Morena Miranda Principal of the Government High School in Morpila, Quepem, said they were watching the situation closely and had decided that as and when the authorities decided it was safe to resume classes, they would bring the seniors to school first. She said “The lower classes till the fourth standard will stay at home and study from the worksheets emailed to them. The seniors would attend class but according to a system we have already discussed internally. On one day we will have students from classes 8,9, 10 will attend school and they will have to follow the sops. This will mean they will be distributed in various classrooms. The next day students from 5,6 and 7th standard will attend”.
Sentiments of parents and children will decide when school opens
Deepika, a teacher in a school in Pernem in North Goa said now with a number of cases detected in that area even staff were instructed to not come to school. Students were being taught online and the decision to commence classes would be done by the management. This would happen only after the government department gave the necessary notifications. The management she said would take into consideration the sentiments of the parents and the students and ensure that no one was exposed to danger.
In these strange times, one can only hope, prudence and common-sense plays a role in the decisions that will be made by all those responsible.
