The Telangana state government has announced the reopening of schools for classes 6, 7, and 8 from Wednesday. Education Minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy said that the decision was taken following the instruction from Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao who had earlier said that the schools for junior classes will open in a phased manner between 24 February and 1 March.
The Telangana Progressive Teachers’ Federation (TPTF) welcomed the government’s decision to start classes for 6, 7, 8 standards from tomorrow. TPTF said, “Online education has caused many ailments among students. Even intellectuals around the world have pointed out that there is no alternative to direct classroom teaching and a live teacher. The decision to open schools late is reasonable.”
The minister said that the consent of parents will be mandatory for their children to attend school. The schools too have to follow the Covid-19 guidelines laid by the education department for classes 9 to 12. In January, the government had announced the reopening of schools for classes 9 to 12. On January 12, the school education department came up with the guidelines to facilitate smooth functioning of classes during the pandemic