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It was the first day of school and I didn't want to miss the chance to meet my friends and teachers. So I took a boat with a couple of neighbouring students to come to school.
"It's hard to explain. Honestly speaking, I still cannot believe we're back at the campus seeing each other again," said an elated Adil Nuri.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. A student of the port city's Kazem Ali School and College, Adil had spent the last 18 months away from campus, and yesterday was the first time she was meeting most of her friends after all these days.
A similar feeling echoed across the country, as school and college students attended in-person classes for the first time after the pandemic-induced 543-day break. During this time, they had only attended classes virtually.
Visiting institutions across the country, our correspondents saw students and guardians flock to their beloved campuses, almost all of them donning face masks according to the health guidelines, though some deviations were also observed.
Some students complained of the toll it took to wear face masks throughout school hours.
In Chattogram, schools and colleges took several initiatives, such as temperature checks at the gates, handwashing facilities etc. to address the possible spread of coronavirus. The authorities were also seen monitoring the situation.
Inside the classrooms, students sat in a "zig zag" manner, one student per seat, to ensure physical distance. Many schools hung banners saying "No Mask, No Entry".
My sons were excited to wake up really early in the morning. I instructed them to keep the mask on inside class and follow the health rules.
Rashedul Hasan Tushar, father of twin school-going boys in the city, said, "My sons were excited to wake up really early in the morning. I instructed them to keep the mask on inside class and follow the health rules," he said.
In Barishal, almost one third of more than a million primary school students attended school.
The scene in the city was no different from other places. One guardian of a Government Girls' High School said her daughter could not even sleep at night from the excitement of returning to school.
Meanwhile, some 2,000 educational institutions across Rajshahi district were abuzz as they welcomed students back to campus.
Authorities of some schools decorated the streets to welcome the students, while others greeted them with flowers.
Government officials were seen visiting several schools to monitor adherence to health rules.
In Rangpur, a correspondent of this newspaper visited Taraganj upazila's Jogodishpur Government Primary School and saw students undergoing temperature check at the gate.
Across Dinajpur, the attendance was around 80 percent, the district education office said.
It's been really long since our students last attended school, so we wanted to do something special to make it a memorable day for them, and for us.
In Sylhet Government Kindergarten Primary School, the festivities were taken up a notch, as a band party with their drums and flute welcomed students to the Zindabazar campus.
In fact, almost every school and college in Sylhet city arranged similar welcoming acts.
Nasima Akther Chowdhury, head teacher of Sylhet Government Kindergarten Primary School, said, "It's been really long since our students last attended school, so we wanted to do something special to make it a memorable day for them, and for us."
"We've also planned to make classes more interactive and entertaining so that students can recover from their pandemic-induced trauma faster," she said.
However, though schools and colleges followed strict mask wearing rules inside the campuses, negligence was seen among students and their guardians outside the campus.
Many students commuting via public transport were seen without masks, while guardians were seen huddling too close to each other in front of the institutions, some of them without sporting masks.
The scenario was a little different for Khulna and Tangail, where students had to deal with flooded streets to reach campus.
Khulna District Education Officer Ruhul Amin said many schools were damaged due to the Amphan and Yaas cyclones in several areas, including in Koyra, Dacope, and Paikgacha upazilas.
"Several schools are undergoing renovations. But we're still trying our best to resume classes," Ruhul Amin said.
Shammridhi Swasty, a fourth grader at Khulna Government Girls' High school, told The Daily Star that she felt suffocated having to wear a mask throughout school hours. However, she said her teachers said they'll allow students to take off their masks for a while if they feel ill.
In Tangail, students had to overcome quite the challenge to get back to their campuses, though they were only too happy to do it.
As at least 429 schools of the district's low-lying areas were flooded recently, students had to plough through the stagnant water to reach their campuses.
Salma Akter, a class five student of Basail South Government Primary School, said, "It was the first day of school and I didn't want to miss the chance to meet my friends and teachers. So I took a boat with a couple of neighbouring students to come to school."
District Office sources said the average attendance rate was 95 percent, while flood-affected schools clocked in around 75 percent of attendance.
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