Reopening Day spells relief for rural students & teachers

July 15 became the new Au-gust 15 for the tenth grader Dny-Rameshwar Kale as he returned excitedly to school in a village in Beed carrying a sanitizer bottle, plonked himself on a partner-less bench, and bantered through his mask with his long-time-no-see mates.

- Sharmila Ganesan Ram & Nitasha Natu

“I have never understood freedom better,” said Kale in rustic Marathi when teachers asked some of them for a speech. “The past year has been agonizing,” he added. “There were times I wondered if we would have to stay home all our lives.”

Given that rural students suffered a more pronounced loss of learning during lockdown due to lack of access to mobile phones or network connectivity issues, it was inevitable that a heightened chatter of relief would ensue. On July 15, after the state government’s nod for students from grades 8 to 12 to attend physical classes in Covid-free areas, nearly 6000 schools reopened.