Schools should not force students to attend physical classes, and the hybrid arrangement of physical and virtual classes must continue for some time, president of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education Kalyanmoy Ganguly said on Friday.
As the COVID-19 situation improved, the State government decided to reopen schools from Class VIII onwards from February 3, but said arrangements for students to avail classes through the online mode would continue. Other than State-run schools continuing with both physical and virtual classes, students from Class VI onwards can take lessons through some television channels and an online portal. Since the re-opening of schools, attendance in State- run schools was also far from 100% and a section of the students have stayed away from physical classrooms.
At a time the State-run schools are being more accommodating, allowing both virtual and physical option for students , private schools in Kolkata are not sure how to grapple with the situation. While some private schools are not keen to compel students for physical classes, a number of private schools in the city have decided to completely suspend online classes, leaving students with no option but to come to school.
