Shaheen Mollah and Md Shahnawaz Khan Chandan

Fourteen-year-old Shahabul Alam never thought a day would come where he would be impatient to get back into the classroom.

The daily grind of waking up early, attending the school assembly, concentrating for long hours, being called on in class and slogging through traffic to get back home is now seeming wholly inviting after about solitary 18 months at home with unrestricted access to video games, television and marathon online classes.

“I started to miss my school and seeing my friends. I couldn’t be happier when the announcement came that we would be going back to school,” said the Class-8 student of Shahid Police Smrity High School and College in Mirpur.

His father, Md Jahirul Alam, is not as excited about the return to the classroom from September 12: he is worried whether the school would be able to maintain the health protocols needed to keep the mutating coronavirus at bay.

“Coronavirus has not stopped spreading yet. I know it is extremely important for our children to return to school as their lifestyle has been greatly disrupted by this long vacation. But maintaining the health guidelines is paramount,” Alam said.

Shahabul’s school is taking the matter just as seriously.

It has formed several committees to monitor the implementation of the education ministry’s directives including ensuring social distancing, mask use and sanitisation facilities.

Sinks have been placed in different corners, an isolation room has been readied and disinfectant chambers installed at the school gates. All security guards have been equipped with thermal guns to check the temperature of students before entry.