Parents in a fix over fake news on schools’ closure

Hyderabad: The pandemic has seen fake news on a constant high, and now, as schools are slowly returning to normalcy, rumour mills are targeting children too. For the last few days, rumours of educational institutions being closed down are making the rounds. With reports of the latest coronavirus variant, Omicron too hitting headlines, some even […]

Hyderabad: The pandemic has seen fake news on a constant high, and now, as schools are slowly returning to normalcy, rumour mills are targeting children too.

For the last few days, rumours of educational institutions being closed down are making the rounds. With reports of the latest coronavirus variant, Omicron too hitting headlines, some even went to the extent of spreading stories that educational institutions in the State were ordered to close from December 2 due to the Omicron threat. And, this was attributed to Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy.

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The rumours triggered confusion among students and parents, with many worried parents reaching out to schools to know what was happening.

“Given the Covid-19 situation, initially we thought it to be true. However, we reached out to the management and came to know that it was fake,” said Prasanth Kumar, a parent.

The Minister too was quick to dispel the fake news, and issued a statement asking students and parents not to believe in rumours being spread on social media over holidays to schools. She said Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had during the recent Cabinet meeting directed that educational institutions should continue to function by strictly following Covid norms. The Minister also asked educational institution managements to take all necessary Covid safety precautions.

Managements of schools have also asked students and parents not to fall prey to such fake news being circulated on social media.

“After a long gap, classes are running seamlessly. Parents should not believe in such rumours. If there are any Covid symptoms, they can take their wards for testing,” said Sreenivas Reddy, owner of Bharati Vidya Bhavan High School, Amberpet.

Will file complaint: TRSMA

The Telangana Recognised School Managements Association (TRSMA), which represents private budget schools in the State, has decided to deal with fake news firmly.

“We have 90 per cent of students reporting for classes. When educational institutions are operating perfectly, unnecessarily fake news on closure of educational institutions is being circulated and is creating a lot of confusion among parents and students. We will be filing a police complaint on fake news,” TRSMA president Y Shekhar Rao said.

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