Andhra Pradesh: It's school time again!

Amaravati/ Visakhapatnam: The wrinkled uniforms are pulled out of the cupboards for washing and ironing. The textbooks and notebooks are neatly wrapped in glossy covers, pinned and stacked aside as the government schools now present a spick and span environment. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will launch the Nadu Nedu –Mana Badi first phase and distribute Jagananna Vidya Kanuka kits on Monday at the Singamsetti Prabhavathi ZPP High School in P Gannavaram of East Godavari district.

This school was a normal government school with a rusted hand pump for drinking water, poorly maintained toilets, blocked drains, pools of stagnant rainwater, faded blackboards and broken benches. But now the school has undergone a total transformation. It had got a new paint, colourful interiors, and modern infrastructure.

The Vidya Kanuka kit comprises three pairs of uniform, an Oxford English to Telugu dictionary, one pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, bilingual textbooks, notebooks, belt and a school bag aimed at getting the student fully prepared for the new academic year on par with those attending private schools.

After a long gap, stepping out of homes and meeting friends appear to excite children more than ever. "It's hard to explain how bored I am with the virtual classes. The same is the case with my friends as well.

We were keeping our fingers crossed for the Covid-19 cases to recede so that we can return to school," says V Priyanka, a Class VIII student in Visakhapatnam.

Like Priyanka, students from various schools across the State are delighted to be part of the physical classes at least for the remaining months of the 2021-22 academic year.

Though for many parents it did provide a great relief to see their wards at home, prolonged screen time and absence of socialising have become a worrying factor. "Teamwork is something we miss at home. There is no effective collaboration happening with friends like how it used to be when we were in school," opines Gayathri Patnaik, a Class IX student.

However, parents have urged the authorities to ensure that strict Covid norms were followed in view of the impending threat of a third wave looming large, appropriate behaviour both among students and teachers in schools through effective surveillance mechanisms should be maintained, they add.