West Bengal: 31 lakh junior class students attend open-air learning sessions

KOLKATA: Altogether 31 lakh students from classes one to seven turned up at 75,000 venues across West Bengal on the first day of the open-air learning session on Monday, an official said. In the project named ‘Paray Shikshalay’ (education centre at your locality), the sessions were held either on open ground in a locality which can be easily communicable for students or one adjacent to a school having a large number of pupils.

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In Kolkata alone, 21,000 students attended open-air classes at 531 venues maintaining COVID protocols, a school education department official said. Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim visited a 'Paray Shikshalay' centre at the Chetla Agrani Durga puja ground. Students from eight schools in ward number 82 took part in open-air classes at that venue.

As the state government declared a half-day holiday to mourn the death of Lata Mangeshkar, the open-air sessions were held only in the first half - from 10.30 am to 1 pm, the official said. In urban areas, local councillors helped set up infrastructure for 'Paray Shikshalay', while panchayat representatives came to support it in rural areas.

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Initially, the project was meant for primary school students (1 to 5) when it was announced on January 24. However, pupils of classes 6 and 7 were included later as physical classes did not reopen for them. Schools in West Bengal reopened for classes eight to 12 from February 3.