There was generally a poor turnout in preschools and anganwadis on Monday as they opened their doors to students after one and half years.
Many, however, chose to postpone their reopening as some of them had to get their premises cleaned, while some others had to find a new place as they had given up their old rented premises.
Schools and anganwadis, which reopened, wore a festive look with many of the teachers decorating the entire premises.
Suchetha Agarwal, Director of Kids Space Academy, said they had around 50% of enrolled students attending offline classes on Monday. “We hope that the attendance will improve by next week as many students are out of town at the moment. We are also hoping that we get more new admissions this week,” she said.
Aarti S. Nevatia, Principal, Scribbles Play School, said their preschool saw good attendance. “The children were trained well by the parents and they were following all the SOPs. They enjoyed themselves. One parent even called us, and said her son cried when he had to enter the house, and said he wants to go back to school,” she said.
Anganwadi workers hope the attendance will improve by the end of this week. Sudha N., a worker in Muneshwaranagar said the attendance would improve once they start providing food. “Currently, we are calling students in small groups from 10 a.m. to noon. Once we start activities in a full-fledged manner, our attendance will improve,” she said.
K.B. Bhat, Honorary President, Karnataka United Anganwadis said the institutions in North Karnataka saw a dull response with very few children turning up.
