The Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet so one cannot let their guard down, teachers are telling students continuously as schools reopen for in-person classes in the new session. There is a palpable tendency among students, especially those in senior classes, to pull their masks down or carry them in their pockets and hug each other, thinking that that virus is nowhere to reach them, said teachers in several schools. 

Of course, maintaining distance cannot be maintained when the whole class is back on campus but schools are insisting that students wear masks, apply sanitizer on their hands and strictly follow hygiene. Nevertheless, the scorching heat is indeed making it difficult for girls and boys to keep their masks on for long hours. 

In some schools, many students were hauled up for not wearing the masks and subsequently given masks to wear. But in other schools, the teacher had to pause her lesson to ask the students to put back their masks every time, when the students took off their masks during class. 

“The Covid-19 is still not over, and it concerns me a lot. So far, if I am allowed to do, the boys are taking off their masks. But, we always instruct and monitor students. Every so often, we are telling them that many countries are still fighting Covid," said a teacher, who is the Vice-principal of a school affiliated with CBSE in the Ramnagar Area. She said that there was a tendency amongst boys to put an arm around a friends’ shoulder. And, we teachers have to keep an eye on this. 

With the reopening of many schools, many students had turned up to appear in board exams, they were not this "relaxed" about protocols. Earlier, there were more adherences to  Covid protocols, much of which has slackened now due to weather conditions, low case numbers and also many of them are vaccinated," said a teacher.

Even during parent-teacher meetings in school, many parents come without masks. So, it is quite apparent for students to follow suit when parents have let their guard down, a teacher said. The need of the hour is to be vigilant and make students follow protocols and yet we have to bring back the feeling of normalcy o let students experience the joy of school,” said a science teacher in a city’s prominent school.