Students back to schools in Kashmir after two years

Schools in Kashmir valley have reopened for physical academic activities after a two-year gap.

Schools were closed in Kashmir in the second week of March 2020 following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, the schools for higher classes reopened following the winter vacations in March but hardly after two weeks, they were again closed following the surge in Covid-19 cases.

There was hustle and bustle across the valley with students gathering to board their school buses. Also, the highway and link roads were abuzz with the school buses ferrying children from their homes to schools.

On the first day of reopening of the schools, thousands of children dressed in uniforms, resumed the academic activity. After staying home for a long time, they were eager to get back to their classes.

“We are happy to see our friends in school after a long time. We met our friends at private tuition centres during winter months but the excitement of joining our classmates in schools is altogether different,” said Mursil, a student of a leading private school.

Feroz Ahmad, a teacher at a prestigious missionary school in Srinagar said they had prepared a warm welcome for the students. “They (students) should feel enthusiastic coming to the schools after almost two years,” he said

There are some 13,800 schools across the valley where some 1.2 million students study. The schools had also kept hand sanitisers and thermal scanners available at the entry point of the premises.

The government has already advised the schools to ensure smooth transition of students from home-based lockdown to formal schooling, besides providing support to them on school reopening.

Check out DH's latest videos: