Telangana: Schools cautious on reopening

Some defer holding physical classes, several opt for both online/offline mode

Hyderabad: School managements across the State have taken a calibrated approach on reopening for physical classes from Wednesday.

While some private managements have deferred physical classes for seven to 10 days, several others have opted for both online and offline classes. Others are continuing with online classes to see how things pan out.

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“In view of the High Court directions, we have decided to hold online classes for one more week and take a decision later,” said Usha Reddy, Principal, Meridian School. The principal of another CBSE school in Jubilee Hills said they would continue with online classes for the next 10 days.

On the other hand, several others such as ‘Slate The School’ for instance, have decided to go in for a blended mode. “We decided to go in for both offline and online classes for all students,” said Vasireddy Amarnath, chairman, Slate. The Telangana Recognised School Managements Association (TRSMA), which represents private budget schools, has also decided to have both.

“It is up to the parents to send their wards to school. For students who opt for online classes, the classes from school will be live-streamed,” said Y Shekhar Rao, president, TRSMA, adding that school managements would not insist on consent letters.

Some managements are taking a cautious approach on reopening for primary students. The Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Begumpet, has sent out a message to parents stating that the school would reopen for classes 9-12 in physical/offline mode with an option of taking classes online. Classes from pre-primary to Class 8 would continue online.

In a statement, Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy said attendance was not mandatory and instructed school managements not to exert pressure for attendance. Meanwhile, government schools across the State were geared up for reopening from Wednesday.

Colleges set to reopen

All junior, degree and professional colleges will reopen for physical classes from Wednesday.

According to a BIE official, the complete syllabus for junior colleges was available on BIE’s YouTube channel as well. On the other hand, Telangana State Council of Higher Education Chairman Prof R Limbadri conducted a virtual meeting with all State university Vice-Chancellors for physical reopening of universities and colleges along with hostels from today. All the V-Cs were told to ensure Covid-19 safety norms including face masks, sanitization of classrooms/lab etc., besides social distancing.