Students can travel free on BMTC buses

Bengaluru: Having been locked up at home and tethered to digital screens for almost 10 months, it's was freedom from 'jail life' for schoolchildren across the State on Friday. On Saturday, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar announced 41% attendance in class 10 and 32.56 % in second-year PUC (class 12).

Officials expect more students to attend classes from Monday. "It's a Friday and the first day of the New Year. About 40% of attendance for class 10 and 32.56% attendance for PUC (class 12) is not bad. It is a good beginning we have made, I believe. We anticipated 50% attendance and that was more or less the turnout." observed Mr Suresh Kumar

As schools and PU colleges reopened from January 1 (Friday) for schools from class 6 to 10 and 12 (2nd PU college), Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has decided to operate buses for students. In some schools, students from classes 6-9 came to attend Vidyagama programme, which enables continued schooling. The minister told reporters that nearly 3.8 lakh students returned to class 10 in 16,850 high schools, while the number stood at 78,794 for class 12 students in 5,492 colleges.

"The government is thinking about revenue and telling parents to send their children to schools which are now more dangerous because of the new Covid strain. We are scared to send our child on public transport because my son's school is 2 km away from our house. I hope the government will continue with online class till the vaccine arrives" a parent from Vijayanagar told The Hans India.

The Association of Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in the State claimed attendance was around 85% in some institutions. Teachers in many places welcomed students with traditional aarti and a shower of flower petals.