New Delhi, :  The incessant rains that lashed Delhi did not deter the enthusiasm of children who attended schools in the national capital on Wednesday for physical classes after over a year-long gap. Observing this, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia commented that it shows how much the children missed the physical classes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Children attending school despite the heavy rainfall shows that they really missed their schools and eagerly waiting for them to reopen. I’m looking forward to meeting the students as soon as possible,” said Sisodia who also handles the portfolio of the education ministry.

The schools and colleges have reopened for physical education in Delhi from September 1 with limited occupancy in the classes adhering to mandatory follow-up of Covid protocols.

The government has allowed colleges and coaching institutes to resume physical classes. Meanwhile, it has allowed senior students from classes 9-12 to attend the schools.

The classes are allowed to run in a blended model where students will be able to attend sessions both physically and through digital means.

Sisodia said that the government is on alert mode and will ensure that Covid protocols and social distancing are strictly followed in schools and colleges. He also informed that the experiences from the first round will guide the government to decide to reopen for junior classes.

“Many experts believe that the risk of Covid-19 in children is low. Keeping this in view, schools can be opened for primary classes starting from 100-150 schools. But, the government will decide on this only based on the experience from the senior classes,” the minister said.

“At present, schools are being opened with 50 per cent capacity, but once these protocols become a habit among children, schools will be allowed to run on full capacity,” he added.

Reinstating that now is the correct time to restart physical education, Sidodia stressed that mandatory precautions are being taken and children will not be forced for physical classes.

“Schools were closed for the last 1.5 years due to the pandemic. During this time, there has been a lot of damage to the education of the children. We are concerned about the health of the children but also their education. If schools and colleges are not opened now, then an entire generation will move forward with a knowledge gap,” he said.

“No school can force children to attend school without parental approval. Also, all the academic activities will continue to run offline as well as online in a blended manner. Parents will also gradually develop the confidence to send their children to school,” Sisodia added.

The education minister informed that academic activity in the schools will not begin immediately and the teachers will work on the social-emotion well-being of the children.

“In the first 2-3 days, work will be done on their (children) social-emotional well-being through dialogue so that the children can be brought out of this mentally unsettling phase,” he said.