Back to school after the vacation

CHENNAI: The month of May draws to a close and with it, the summer vacation. As students get ready to go back to school, many are rather miffed at the fact that the academic year is beginning earlier than usual.Ashish S, a student going to Class 8, says, “Usually school opened around June 6 or even later. This time almost all schools are reopening on June 1.” With the holidays cut short, he says he had to come back a week earlier from his grandmother’s place in Coimbatore. “I had a good holiday, but no one minds a few more days of vacation,” he says.There are those who are happy to go back. Radhika Mohan, also a student of Class 8, says she usually gets bored during the vacations. “The summer camp I went to got over by mid-May, so for the last couple of weeks, all I have been doing is reading or watching TV. At least when we have school, there is something interesting going on,” she says.Anisha Chandran, a Class 4 student, is excited as she is joining a new school, “We have shifted to a new house which is quite far from the school I studied in. I will miss my old school friends of course, but it will be nice to meet new children.”   Keeping in touch through the holidays seems to be no problem for students of this generation. Facebook, SMS and IM services like Gtalk keep them up to date with one another’s news. Anisha says, “My sister is in Class 9 and has her own cell phone. My friends and I use our parents’ phones to call or message each other. A few times during the vacation, we went together for movies and to Fun City.”For those going to Classes 10 and 12, their freedom will be slightly curbed as they are expected to concentrate on their studies. But they have found a way to work with the restrictions. Akshaya Sripathi, a student of Class 12, says, “I go for tuitions, as do many of my friends from school, so we meet all the time. Of course we have to study, but it is nice to have them around. For now my parents don’t mind me going out with them, but once school starts I’m sure they will ask me to concentrate on my studies.”