Kids rush to school, lead Kolkata’s bandh fightback – Times of India

Kolkata: On Monday, school children across the state rushed to schools despite the 12-hour bandh call by BJP. Additionally, during the bandh from 6am to 6pm, several schools held their exams while others started primary section classes. School heads and students reported ease of conveyance and high attendance.
Among the schools that opened its primary school classes on Monday was Sushila Birla Girls’ School. Principal Koeli Dey shared how the news of the bandh could not dampen the enthusiasm of students, teachers and guardians to kick off offline classes. “All of the classes had 90%-97% attendance. None of the parents complained about travel concerns regarding the bandh. If there were any such issues, the high attendance did not reflect it. The children are so excited to be back and we are so thrilled to have them back,” she said. Dey also said transport for children had been arranged by the parents, and there were no issues or delays.
A number of other Kolkata schools, like Lakshmipat Singhania Academy and Hindu School, which have gradually been opening primary sections over this month, also reported a high turnout. Hindu School principal Subrajit Dutta said, “We had over 90% attendance in the morning session and about 95% in the afternoon session.”
“Every organ of the society, including political parties, the government and parents, want to remove every possible obstruction to education now. The children are especially eager to return to offline classes,” Dutta added.
Like toddlers and their guardians who managed to beat the bandh blues, secondary school students also reported a relative ease of travel. Nelson Mangalam, principal of St Helen’s School, Howrah, and Sonali Sen, principal of DPS Newtown reported high attendance and punctuality of students commuting to school for their exams. Vijaylaxmi Kumar, principal of Asian International School, Howrah, said, “On Monday, Class VIII had a science exam and Class IX had a maths exam. There was nearly 100% attendance. The few cases of absences were for medical cases and they had informed the school in advance. Students availing of our school bus services and those who came in their private vehicles reported no difficulty in travelling during the bandh.”
Sikha Bhowmik, a parent, said there was no traffic snarl when she was dropping her son Aritra off at Nava Nalanda School. “I dropped him off in our private vehicle. There was no problem on the road. Even on Sunday, when the news of the bandh came out, none of the parents were particularly concerned,” she said.
Nitika Samanta, a Class X student of Rammohan Mission School, said, “I had to go to school for a vaccination drive on Monday. I went by public bus and there was no problem. None of my friends faced any issue either.”