School campuses spring back to life in Hyderabad
Although several government schools welcomed students back, many private schools chose to observe the situation and continue online classes for another seven to 10 days.
Hyderabad: All educational institutions, barring residential, social welfare and tribal welfare schools with hostel facilities, reopened in Telangana on Wednesday. The schools came to life as students attended classes for the first time in the current academic year.
Although several government schools welcomed students back, many private schools chose to observe the situation and continue online classes for another seven to 10 days.
A Venkat Reddy, Principal of Zilla Parishad High School, Kompally, said he was expecting more students to come to school in the following weeks. “We didn’t receive many students when the schools were reopened briefly in February earlier this year. However, within days, we had about 60 per cent of students attending regular classes. I am hopeful the attendance will improve,” he says. Only 49 of the 444 students admitted to the school attended the physical classes on the first day.
Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur also managed to get about 40 per cent of the total students to school. “Many of them want to study from home, and as instructed by the authorities, we will continue online classes for these students,” said Dr Narsimha Reddy, Principal, HPS, Ramanthapur.
Many school managements are looking for a phased reopening. Sharing their plan of action, Seetha Murthy, Principal, Silver Oaks International Schools, said, “We plan to reopen for students of Classes 9 to 12 on Monday. We did a survey among parents, and only about 20 per cent agreed to send kids to school. We will thus be following a hybrid mode. After one week, we will ask students of Classes 7 and 8 to come to school.”
On the other hand, all junior, degree and professional colleges also reopened for physical classes. D Sankara Rao, Dean, Sri Chaitanya, Kukatpally, said, “Almost 70 per cent of students attended physical classes on the first day. We will be continuing online classes for those taking classes virtually. All classrooms and laboratories have been sanitised thoroughly and our staff is also fully vaccinated.”
Students happy to be back
Excited to be back in school and meet their friends, several children wearing masks were seen making a beeline for school. Kusuma, a Class 10 student of Zilla Parishad High School, Kompally, shared that she was very happy to be back to school. “I didn’t enjoy studying at home as much as I do in the class. I am very excited to be back in school,” she said.
Parents still sceptical
At the same time, many parents are still apprehensive. Pooja, a mother of a third-grader said her child was attending online classes for the last 18 months. “I think they should continue the same for this academic year,” she said.
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