Telangana schools, colleges to reopen on February 1 under COVID rules

Hyderabad: State education minister, Sabitha Indra Reddy said that all educational institutions in the state will be reopened from 1 February. The minister also clarified that Covid guideline must be strictly ensured along with strict precautions.

However, Telangana Recognised School Management Association (TRSMA) and other teachers organisations appealed to the government to extend the academic year from 24 April to 30 May. "We thank the government for reopening schools for all the classes and colleges, but we need time to complete the portion in schools. It is our humble request to the government to extend the academic year till May 30 2022 for schools," said Y. Shekhar Rao, TRSMA state president.

A few educational institutions in the state have already advised their students to be present for physical classes from the first week of February. While a few Private schools have decided to continue with online classes till 10 February, wait and observe the situation and then take a call on reopening schools for physical classes. They said that most of their teachers are unwell so they would wait till 10 Feb and then take a call. Few schools have also decided to continue with physical classes from 8 am to 1 pm.

It may be recalled that the government had announced closure of all educational institutions in the state from 8 to 16 January as Sankranti holidays and later extended it till January 30 considering the rising Covid cases in the state. The decision was not well taken by major educational institutions in the state which called for protests and representations to the government officials by teachers organisations, parents and students.

During the said period, many educational institutions conducted online exams. DC observed students openly cheating in these examinations. Also, when online classes were advised to begin for students of class 8-10, less than 50% of the students were present for the online classes. Many teachers and parents confirmed that the students are simply enjoying their 'vacation.' Intermediate colleges were not directed to conduct any kind of online or offline classes since 8 January by the government. Many university students had to pack their bags and vacate hostel campuses as it turned into infection clusters. This decision to shut hostel campuses also attracted further protests by students.