T order to reopen classes 6-8 from today has worried parents fuming

T order to reopen classes 6-8 from today has worried parents fuming

Nirupa.Vatyam@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:24.02.2021 

Under pressure from school managements, the Telangana government on Tuesday ordered reopening of physical classes for students of classes 6 to 8 from today, but the Hyderabad parents association questioned the hurried move.

Education minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy said that the decision was taken following instructions from chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. A GO was issued on Tuesday by special chief secretary Chitra Ramchandran on reopening of schools.

“Physical classes for class 6 to 8 students can be reopened from February 24 as far as possible and not later than March 1,” said Reddy, adding that schools will have to strictly follow Covid-19 guidelines on the premises. The present digital classes shall continue and schools have been advised to follow a blended form of online/offline mode. “Consent of parents is also mandatory for children coming to school,” the minister said.

Unwise to open schools in hurry: Parents

Chief secretary Somesh Kumar, in a teleconference with all the district collectors, DEOs and district welfare officers of BC, Minority, Tribal Welfare and SC development departments said that the move would bring back about 17.24 lakh students from classes 6 to 8 back to schools.

“All precautions should be taken for the safety of students and teachers. Special measures should be taken for schools opening for the first time,” said Kumar, adding that the District Level Education Monitoring Committee (DLEMC) chaired by the district collector should meet and take up the opening of classes.

While school managements and teachers welcomed the move, Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA) alleged the decision was taken under pressure from the school managements without even consulting parents only to give schools a free hand to collect fees. “What’s the hurry? What made the state make this decision in a day? Even a couple of days back the education minister said that the state is not going to start schools for younger kids as there are hardly one and a half months left for the academic year to end. Now, all of a sudden, they want parents to send their kids to schools from tomorrow,” said K Venkata Sainath, joint secretary, HSPA.

He said that it is surprising to see the state reacting to the threats of school management. “State did not bother to initiate action against 11 schools who were found guilty. They did not come to the rescue of parents when schools were openly violating GO No 46 on fee regulation. But now they are siding with school managements and giving them licence to loot parents.

Parents also pointed to rising cases in other states and said it was not wise to reopen schools for younger children in a hurried manner. Following Covid-19 guidelines, especially social distancing, would not be possible in many private schools due to space constraints as many are just vertical buildings, they said. Both Telangana Recognized Schools Managements Association (TRSMA) and Independent Schools Managements Association (ISMA said all schools will reopen for class 6 to class 8 soon.

“While few schools are planning to reopen tomorrow, others might need some more time to get schools, hostels and buses ready,” said Y Shekar Rao, president, TRSMA adding that all schools will reopen by March 1. K Praveen Raju, vicechairman, Suchitra Group and president, ISMA said as the academic year is winding up in the third week of May, most of their members have decided to open schools for offline exams. “We will open physical classes for younger kids in a full-fledged manner from the next academic year only,” he added. On February 11, citing financial constraints, private budget schools in state said they would be starting physical classes for students of class 6 to class 8 from February 25 irrespective of whether or not state gives its permission to start classes for upper primary students.

What’s the hurry?

What made the state make this decision in a day? Now, all of a sudden, they want parents to send their kids to schools from tomorrow

— K Venkata Sainath

JOINT SECRETARY, HSPA