Vijayawada: Private schools oppose half-day school

Vijayawada: Private schools have decided to continue with full-day schools in the summer against the conventional half-day, leaving the students to face the the heat literally.

The mercury has already touched 40ºC in Vijayawada and rising in almost all areas of the state.

Given the elevated temperatures, the education department is planning to advance the half-day schedule by a week from March 15 to protect students from the sun. Classes will be held from 8 am to 12.30 pm when the half-day schedule is implemented.

Unlike last year, private schools will ignore the restricted school timings. AP Private Schools Association vice-president Arumalla Mohan Reddy said, “Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had accepted our proposal to hold full-day sessions in summer as a part of our 17 demands.”

He said the association’s member-schools will organise parent-teacher meetings and take individual decisions.

“Most parents are willing to continue the regular schedule,” Mr Mohan Reddy said. Children travelling long distances will suffer if the schools shut just after noon.

“The school is the safest place for the students,” he said. Asked about the half-day schedule, director of school education M.V. Krishna Reddy told this newspaper: “As the temperature is soaring, we are examining a proposal to advance the half-day school schedule. It may be finalised in a couple of days.”

Mr Krishna Reddy said private schools should follow the rule. Their request to hold regular school had not been accepted and is still in the discussion state, he said.

The timetable for summative or final examinations will not change even if the half-day schedule is advanced, Mr Krishna Reddy said.