The Telangana government had decided to allow only online classes for students of Class 1 to postgraduate level from July 1. Earlier the Education Department had said physical classes will be held which had raised concerns from parents over the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision on physical classes has now been rolled back.
The state's Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy on Monday said the decision to begin online classes was taken as the pandemic situation was not favourable for physical classes. Earlier the Telangana High Court had also questioned the state government's logic behind opening classes. The state government said online classes will begin for students of Class 3 to PG for government-run institutions. For private institutions, the online classes can start from July 1.
The decision to start online or digital classes was taken as per the directions of the state's Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to ensure students don't lose an academic year. The state hopes students can access digital classes via smartphones and television. Students who do not have a TV or a smartphone can access the ones available at the library or gram panchayath office, Sabitha added.
The state has issued an order directing all educational institutions and coaching institutes to teach online. The minister said if any student is unable to attend classes relayed through T-SAT, developed by Society for Telangana State Network or Doordarshan channel, the same would be made available on the TSAT app. The students can attend the classes at their convenience. Worksheets for school students have also been placed on the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) website.
Universities on the other hand have been asked to prepare an action plan to conduct degree, engineering, postgraduate, diploma final semester exams in July.
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