At last, after being closed for almost two years, the government of West Bengal finally gave the green light on February 16 for schools to reopen.
The announcement was made after it became clear that the Omicron variant did not pose a significant threat to public health and was not going to overwhelm health services. The news was greeted with joy by students and staff of CR’s two education centres who have had to rely on distance learning for so long.
Both centres have reopened, with students initially coming in three times a week, on alternate days, to reduce the risks of catching Covid-19 in the very limited space available. Handwashing and masks are mandatory.
CR’s head of education, Ananya Chatterjee, said: “The students are delighted and so are we. It is time to look forward and to renew our hope and energy.”
Neha (age 12) is a student of class six. She was bouncing for joy when she came into class on the first day. She said “I finally met my teachers and friends at school. I am so happy. I hope we will continue going to school together again.”
The Education on Wheels teams are still out visiting preschool children in the slums but they will start coming to the centres from the middle of March. While schools across India now face the massive task of trying to re-engage millions of children who dropped out of education during the pandemic, CR’s education team did an incredible job teaching their 650 students online.
This was a huge challenge, but supporters donated money to buy smartphones so all the children could have internet access and the teaching team threw themselves into learning the necessary skills to teach remotely.
As a result, the dropout rate in CR over the past two years was zero. Ananya said, “Not a single student dropped out. In fact, they scored outstanding results in classes 10 and 12. Seven students were awarded The Telegraph School Awards scholarships for outstanding results in academics.”
And the pandemic has permanently changed for the better the way CR is going to educate young people. Ananya explained, “We are not going to leave behind what we have learned during the pandemic. Now, unlike at government schools, learning at Calcutta Rescue is completely blended – a combination of remote, face to face, multimedia, and hands-on activities.” This will allow students to have a much richer educational experience, be more involved in the learning process.
Providing a lot of the content online will also allow teachers to use class time in a much more stimulating and effective way.
