‘Hope no more climbing of trees to pick signals’

Among those rejoicing after physical classes resumed are students of higher classes who were affected by lack of connectivity or had to climb trees to catch signals in remote areas of Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts, sources revealed.

Ashok Kumar (16), a class 11 student living in Mordana, 18 kilometres from Gudiyatham, said: “We had to climb trees and even the nearby hill to ensure connectivity when online classes were held. It is a relief to get back to regular classes.”

Anjammal, a parent, was bashful when she said getting the children back to school provides relief as keeping them out of mischief was the main task all these days as online classes did not have the same effect on them as regular classes.

At Perunkattur in the Jawadhu hills in Tiruvannamalai district, headmaster of the State’s only English medium HSS Deivasigamani said all 342 students are back in classes and they are eager to be back. All inmates other than nine students who were sick  had returned to the school hostel.

“Students realise that while the government can provide relief by not conducting exams, it will be different when they go to college and it is this realisation that made them attend classes from day one,” he added. Tiruvannamalai CEO Arulselvan said overall attendance in government schools was 80 percent but that it would take a week to collect reports from all schools as the government changing the software.