T HC declines to shut schools, but e-class must run

 T HC declines to shut schools, but e-class must run

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SagarKumar.Mutha@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad: The Telangana high court, while refusing to stop physical classes entirely, on Thursday told the state to keep open the option of online classes in schools for parents unwilling to send students.

Advocate general BS Prasad assured the court that online classes for government school students would be made available through their T-SAT channel.

Resuming the hearing in Covid PILs on Thursday, a bench also said that it was not in favour of any restrictions on livelihoods of poor people.

“We are for Covid-appropriate behaviour, not blanket restrictions,” the bench said. Senior counsel Ravi Chander said: “The third wave is not yet over. A squad must inspect schools and ensure social distance nor ms are followed. ”

Another counsel, K Pavan Kumar, pointed out that the state’s health bulletins have stopped referring to age groups. “The column on children is conspicuous by its absence,” he said.

When Kumar complained about state not setting up  adequate children’s hospitals, the bench pointed out that government’s efforts to set up such facilities were often being blocked.

Counsel Prabhakar complained about the absence of social distance norms at the ongoing Ramanuja millennium celebrations and said that things would not be any different at the Medaram Jatara either.

A grievance was also raised by advocate Zainab Khan saying that the state has not been paying compensation to the kin of those who died of Covid. The bench directed AG to file an affidavit on this and posted thecase toFebruary 28.