Team Herald
CALANGUTE: The boycott of classes by students at St Joseph High School and Little Flower of Jesus High School in Calangute continued for the third consecutive day.
It may be recalled that the students of St Joseph High School boycotted classes on Monday and again remained absent on the second day of the new academic year on Tuesday following a decision by the parents-teachers associations (PTAs) to boycott classes to protest the shift in the start of the new academic year to April 7. The situation was similar at the neighbouring Little Flower of Jesus High School.
St Joseph High School head Bro Bhakti Nathan said, “There were 89 students present in Classes IX and X on Wednesday, more than strength on Monday-Tuesday, while there were no students in the lower classes.”
Stating that discussions are on with the parents and students, Bro Nathan said he was hopeful that the number of students attending classes would be more by next week.
Only four students attended classes on Tuesday, according to St Joseph High School PTA chairperson Marie Fernandes.
Stating that only six of the 223 students were present on Monday, Fernandes said, “Parents are not sending their children to school during April and have written to the school management and the Directorate of Education of their decision not to send their children to school during April.”
Bro Nathan said, “The school has been open as per the department guidelines. Parents told us they don’t want to send their children to school and this decision was taken by the PTA against the department’s decision to shift school schedules without consulting them. Our school is open, and teachers are there and they will teach the students who attend.”