GEAR was one of the many schools in the city that had to call off physical classes at the last minute on Monday. Like GEAR, some of them went online in the wake of the rain-related chaos.
While attendance was good in online sessions, many students had to battle power and network issues at home. Some others attended classes from neighbours’ houses. “Attendance was good but some children spoke about waterlogging in their apartments. A teacher reported that one of her students said water reached as high as the first floor. He was feeling unsafe because he lives on the second floor,” said Nooraine Fazal, founder, Inventure Academy.
“The attendance in online classes for grades 1-2 was 70% and for 3-5, 80%. Rest of the grades had good attendance. Considering there could be power or internet problems, I had guided the staff to conduct activities that are enriching and to do with skill enhancement and not to take up much of academic content as many may not be able to join,” said Reshma Ganesh, founder principal, Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir, Bangalore East.
“We had sent our buses out early to check real-time status. And it became clear that mostly the southern part of the city was unnavigable,” said Kavitha Gupta of Neev Academy.
Children and teachers were utterly disappointed as the situation put a damper on Teachers’ Day celebrations. Many of them had elaborate plans for the day. Said Manila Carvelho, principal, DPS East: “The children were very disappointed. We have told them they can put up the shows whenever they are back on campus. We went ahead with whatever the teachers had planned for themselves. But some of them arrived in school at 12pm.”
The school has declared online classes for kindergarten on Tuesday, while rest of the grades have study holidays. Teachers have been asked to work from home. Some other schools also said e-lessons would continue on Tuesday.
In case of schools that were open, many students and teachers could not reach the institutions. “Six of our teachers could not come as the roads from their homes were closed. While the schoolbuses managed to ply, we had to crosscheck with traffic police before sending them out again in the evening,” said the principal of a state-board school in Varthur.
“Many of our buses couldn’t make it to school in time. Students were sent back home early to avoid getting stuck in hours-long traffic jams. Teachers’ Day celebrations were also curtailed to ensure that students can return home early and safely,” said Niru Agarwal, trustee, Greenwood High International School.
According to block education officials, two higher primary schools in Bellandur and Marathahalli were flooded. The students were shifted to neighbouring community halls like Ambedkar Bhavan, where classes were held. “In four schools in the area, the attendance was only 50%,” said an official. Similarly, two rooms of a government school in Shantinagar was also affected.
“Azim Premji University cancelled classes on Monday and advised students and members not to travel to the campus given the waterlogging in various parts of the city. Weather conditions permitting, classes will resume on Tuesday,” a varsity spokesperson said.