Coaching Institutes In Delhi Opt For Restricted Opening; Some Stick To Online Classes

Following a marked improvement in the Covid situation in the national capital, the Delhi government had on Friday announced that schools for Classes 9 to 12, colleges and coaching institutions will reopen from September 1.

It was a "limited opening" for most of the coaching institutes across the national capital on Wednesday as they were finally allowed to resume physical classes after being closed since the onset of the pandemic last year. Where coaching chains like Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) and Vidyamandir allowed some students to visit its centres for "doubts and other academic-related queries", GS Score Institute, an institute for civil services in Karol Bagh, held a "faculty-students interaction session" instead of regular classes. Following a marked improvement in the Covid situation in the national capital, the Delhi government had on Friday announced that schools for Classes 9 to 12, colleges and coaching institutions will reopen from September 1. "Our centres were open today, but then it was mainly to help students with their queries and doubts. There were no 'physical classes' per se. However, we will be starting our Class 11-12 batches and have regular classes starting September 6," said Saurabh Kumar, national director, Academics, Vidyamandir. Nearly 55 per cent of students have shown interest to be part of the physical classes, and the institute is fully prepared and following each and every safety protocol as per the instructions by the government, he noted. Aakash Chaudhry, whose AESL also saw a "limited opening" on Wednesday, said the full-fledged reopening of its centres will take place very soon. "During the lockdown, we had started online mentoring for our students so that they didn't lose out on their education. But online coaching can never compensate for face-to-face teaching. We would like to assure the parents that we have taken all the precautionary measures to ensure that the students will be safe," he said.