Amaravati, Nov 2 : On a day when almost all the government schools in Andhra Pradesh reopened for classes after a hiatus of five months, many private schools continue to be shut amid the Covid pandemic. The government schools have opened in the state for Class 9 an 10 students where many teachers had already started making arrangements from Sunday itself. "As soon as the government decided to reopen schools, we have started making arrangements. We held meetings with parents on Sunday," said a head master from a government school in Kurnool district. He said clear instructions were given to teachers and parents, making it mandatory for every student to wear a mask before entering the school. A teacher in Anantapur district said the school ground was cleaned on Sunday, along with sanitizing all the classrooms. "Government has given us Covid kits, we have thermal screened school children and provided hand sanitizer and masks. We gave three masks to each student for three days, so that they will wash and use them again," she said. As mandated by the government, only 16 students are being allowed to sit in a classroom. Some government schools are also making the students take a Covid pledge everyday before starting classes, promising to follow all the guidelines. Similarly, some schools in Anantapur have directed mid-day meal workers to wear gloves as they cook the food, including telling them not to wear rings or nail polish. They have also been told to maintain physical distance while serving food to children. Meanwhile, many private schools did not open on Monday. In Pithapuram of East Godavari district, several corporate schools such as Aditya and also Akshara in Kakinada did not open. Though Bashyam school reopened in Pithapuram, a small town with many private schools, only 4-5 students attended. Many private schools have continued their online classes on Monday. However, a student from a private school said that it is better to attend regular classes than online classes to properly understand the subjects. As the schools have reopened after five long months, a government teacher from Anantapur district expressed happiness to see the students back in classrooms. "We gave textbooks, notebooks, school bags, masks, hand sanitizer, and uniform dresses to the children, they have become very happy after seeing the kits," she said. Government high school in Krishna district's Kaikaluru town witnessed a good turnout of students who occupied the brand new benches arranged by the government as part of Nadu-Nedu scheme, maintaining physical distance. The 2020-21 academic year has been extended till April 30 to ensure 180 working days. For students of Classes 6 to 8, schools will reopen from November 23. For Classes 1 to 6, physical presence in classrooms will resume from December 14. There are around 60,000 schools, including aided, unaided and private ones, in the southern state. Earlier, Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh said the state government has created an app to monitor that all schools are adhering to the Coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs). /IANS