Revise working hours of welfare residential schools: TS UTF

Teachers under leadership of MLC A Narsireddy, along with TS UTF president, K Janaiah and general secretary Chava Ravi, submitted a representation to Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari seeking school timings revision

Hyderabad: The Telangana State United Teachers’ Federation (TS UTF) wanted the State government to revise working hours of the welfare residential schools with 9 am to 4.30 pm as school timings, in accordance with the Right to Education Act.

Teachers under leadership of MLC A Narsireddy, along with TS UTF president, K Janaiah and general secretary Chava Ravi, on Tuesday, submitted a representation to Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari seeking school timings revision.

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The State government recently notified a common-timetable for the welfare residential schools, scheduling students’ wake up time at 5 am and bed-time at 9 am. This caused widespread concern among teachers and students, who said the new timing was unscientific, increasing pressure and stress among students besides affecting their physical and mental health. Teachers lamented that new working hours have also become difficult for the staff as there were no dormitories in the school premises.

In the representation submitted to the Chief Secretary, the teachers, citing psychologists’ opinion, said that it was not reasonable for students to sit in cramped and crowded classrooms from 8 am to 11.15 am.

Due to the long gap between breakfast (7 am) and lunch (1.30 pm) students have been complaining of extreme hunger even before lunch time, they said, adding that students were unable to eat dinner at 6.30 pm since they were being served snacks at 4.30 pm and wanted revision of working hours.

Stating that most buildings in which the residential schools were operating were not suitable, the teachers said some schools were using classrooms as dormitories besides there were no staff quarters.

Since the schools were located in the suburbs of the towns far from the villages and no accommodation facility in the school premises, all teaching and non-teaching staff were being forced to stay in the nearby town or village and commute to the school, reaching by 8 am and leaving at 9 pm, they said.