The playground of Gyan Niketan wears an empty look. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Listless library

The school library at Gyan Niketan finally looks and sounds like one. The usual crowd and buzz are reduced to one-third, much to the relief of onlookers. The librarian, Rekha Kumari, also looks a little relaxed. Most of her time is spent handing over “no dues” acknowledgements to the board examinees. “This is the best time to order new books for the library,” she says, pointing out that the work pressure is less because of fewer students on campus.

“The number of students coming to the library has dropped from 500 to 200 per day in the past one week. While the classes of board examinees are suspended, other classes, too, are busy with revision work ahead of the final exams,” she explains. The silence in the library, however, makes Rekha uneasy. “Students’ presence keeps the atmosphere lively,” she says with a glum face, hoping for more students to visit the library after the exams.

Quiet classrooms

This library isn’t the only space in the school that’s missing the Class X and XII students. The classrooms, corridors and playground too look deserted. A few teachers can be seen moving from one classroom to another but the urgency is not there.

S.M. Jha, economics and business studies teacher, feels the silence on the campus is good but the board examinees are missed by everyone. “The teachers especially miss the students whom they have taught for so many years. The farewell day is an emotional occasion for both the teachers and the students. It seems as if the father is bidding goodbye to his son. Though the teachers are busy in completing the continuous and comprehensive evaluation on schedule, the pain is perpetually there. The atmosphere is dull in the school and, at times, it becomes difficult to spend six hours on the premises in the absence of the students,” he says, as he prepares for his next class.

Deserted corridors

The silence in the corridors is bothering Dheeraj Saraf, a Class IX student of Litera Valley School, who joined the school last year. Dheeraj moved to this CBSE-affiliated school from an ICSE-affiliated school in the current academic session. “I managed to adjust in the new surrounding only because of my seniors (Class X students). They encouraged me a lot,” says Dheeraj who had got used to the noisy corridors, thanks to the loud and cheerful seniors moving around in groups.

“Now when they (seniors) are not here, the corridors look deserted. I don’t feel like moving out of the classroom. Even the sports ground is empty. There’s no activity on the campus,” he adds.

Desolate playground

Shashank Abhishek, a Class IX student of Gyan Niketan, can now play football as long as he wants. There are no seniors to stop him or make him wait for his turn. As he dribbles the ball around his classmates, he cries out in frustration. “Where are the seniors? We miss them on the playground. It was fun to play with them. We do not feel like going to the first floor (Class X) as the classrooms look deserted these days,” he says, before running back to the playground to join his friends.

Empty school bus

Richa Bothra, a Class VIII student of Rose Bud School, has many friends in Class X.

This bonding with seniors did not develop in school though. “My journey to school and back home on the school bus was very special for me because I could interact with my seniors. We used to share jokes and laugh aloud like friends. Those memorable and delightful moments cannot be forgotten,” she says. “Travelling on the school bus is not the same anymore.

Even on campus, the silence is annoying. The half-an-hour lunch break seems useless these days,” she adds. Free-for-all assembly Absence of seniors means escape from the regular monitoring on campus. Even this advantage has failed to please the juniors. Garima Jain, a Class VIII student from St Joseph’s Convent High School, doesn’t mind being monitored by the seniors at all.

“I have been scolded by them (Class X and XII students) many times but it’s for my own improvement. Now when the seniors are not in the school, I miss being scolded by them in the assembly. Seniors teach juniors how to maintain discipline,” she says, hoping for new seniors to fill up the space vacated by students who will pass out this year.