Schools in Goa reopen for class x and XII with covid-19 protocols

After months of staying shut, schools have called Class X and XII students back to the institutions – but with new guidelines and a different classroom experience in store for them. We spoke to a few teachers, students and parents to understand if the teenagers are happy going back to school and the challenges that lie ahead.
Students excited to go to class
With class being held online, students have missed not just their friends and teachers, but due to poor connectivity some have missed their classes too.Going back to school will give them the opportunity to revise and learn what they missed out on. “I’m very excited to be going back to school, since I live in a place with poor network and have missed a few online classes. I plan to request my teachers to teach me the chapters again,” says Sajal Gawas, Class XII commerce student from St Andrew’s Higher Secondary School. “Though I’m excited to meet my classmates who I haven’t seen for a long time, I plan to take precautions like wearing a mask, carrying a sanitiser and keeping a distance from everyone,” adds the Vasco resident.
Pritam Naik, a Class X student from Margao who is attending classes after almost seven months, says, “I’m very excited to go to class but my parents have told me not to interact with anyone and maintain a distance. I was very excited to meet my classmates. On Whataspp we would discuss who was attending and who wasn’t.”
Teachers feel it will be extra work
With all SOPs in place and only 12 students permitted in a class, teachers are apprehensive about the extra workload. A class XII teacher from Margao told us, “We have a huge class strength of almost 60 students in a class with two sections – which means 120 students in just one stream. According to the SOPs, only 12 students will be allowed into a classroom. This means 10 classrooms will be needed and I’ll have to teach the same lesson in 10 classes on a day. It will be very exhausting and we will take some time to adjust to the new normal.”
It was a field day for students of Saraswat Vidyalaya in Mapusa, which saw 42 students appear on the first day, out of a total of 52 students of class X. “We called only one division today and it was nice to see so many students. Though there is a fear among parents, they are also concerned about their children’s future. Science practicals can be tough to teach online and attending classes means that the child will get guidance from the teacher too,” says Swapnita Nagwekar, headmistress in charge.
Renita Barneto, a teacher from Loutolim, says, “This new system will help students who have missed out on their classes to grasp the lessons better. I used to take classes online, but if students didn’t understand, I had to teach them again – this would happen many times, as students would come individually.”
Cautious parents look ahead
With classes having started, parents think it is time to experience the new normal. “We know that the management has taken all the measures to follow the SOPs and we are hoping that no one gets infected – both the teachers and the students. The virus is on the back of every parent’s mind, but there has to be a start and we have to see what happens,” says Swapnil Talaulikar, a parent of a Class X student from Mapusa.
Maria Fernandes, whose child is in class XII, says, “It is important to have a positive attitude. I have told my daughter that there are rules that she needs to follow before going to class and while she is in class. I have asked her not to remove her mask at all.”