Thiruvananthapuram, June 1 : Schools in Kerala reopened after the summer break with three lakh tiny tots beginning their schooling in Class One. This is the first academic year after 2019 that children are in school without a face mask, which was mandatory since March 2020. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led from the front in welcoming the children at the state-level inauguration of the new academic year in the capital city, while his cabinet members and others inaugurated it in other places. During the event, the chief minister highlighted how the school infrastructure under his government since 2016 have improved hugely. "Gone are the days when government schools had poor infrastructure as the state has ensured state-of-the-art facilities to young kids, who are the future of the country," said Vijayan. He also called upon the teachers to do their job sincerely and advised the children against just concentrating on their books all the time, instead venturing out of classrooms. The chief minister also cautioned them against drug menace saying that a section in society is out to create trouble. /IANS