Lucknow: Students of Classes I to V were greeted with balloons and flowers at the private and government primary schools as they reopened in Uttar Pradesh on Monday. The schools reopened after almost a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gorakhpur’s Rawat Pathshala welcomed students with aarti and tika. “Desks and benches have been sanitised. Students have been asked to wear masks and wash their hands. We are ready to follow the state government’s guidelines,” Principal Brijanand Prasad Yadav was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
However, few students were seen without face masks. Responding to the issue, the school principal said that face masks had also been made a part of the uniform and parents of the defaulters will be instructed not to send their children without masks.
“We are so happy to have the students back in school. We are being careful to follow all protocols and are doing our best to make up for the lost time through the 100-day model,” teacher Sangeeta Singh said.
Students too were ecstatic upon meeting their friends and teachers after a long gap. “I am so glad to be back in school. I haven’t seen my friends in a long time. I’m very glad to see my teachers as well,” the agency quoted a student as saying.
Uttar Pradesh currently has 2,103 active COVID-19 cases, according to the Union Health Ministry. The state has reported 5,92,699 recoveries and 8,725 deaths so far.
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