'Delighted to be back', say students in Tamil Nadu as schools reopen

Most schools find half the students back as physical teaching resumes for Classes 9 to 12

Narayanan Veerasimhan, a 16-year-old Class XI student of SRM Nightingale Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai’s Mambalam area, cannot conceal his happiness. After being stuck at home for months and struggling with online classes, he’s overjoyed to be back in school, “with friends and learning in a classroom atmosphere, which is irreplaceable,” he says.

After opening briefly for Classes 9 to 12, schools in Tamil Nadu had shut again on March 22, and students were back to online classes. Veerasimhan would like to forget that period now.

On Wednesday, when schools re-opened for Classes 9 to 12 in states like