Classes will restart for class 6, 7 and 8 in Telangana on Wednesday, February 24. The decision, announced by Telangana Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, was taken based on directives issued by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao. Schools and students have been requested to follow all COVID-19 protocols while attending physical classes.
The directives also say that parental permission is mandatory to allow children to attend classes. According to the government’s announcement, schools can start classes anytime between Wednesday and March 1.
The Telangana Progressive Teachers’ Federation (TPTF) welcomed the state government’s decision to start classes for 6, 7 and 8. In a statement released by TPTF’s President K Ramana and Secretary Maisa Srinivas, the organisation said that “online education has caused many ailments” among students.
“Even intellectuals 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 statement read.
On Monday, Telangana reported 114 new COVID-19 cases and one death. With this, the total number of cases reported in the state stands at 2,97,712 while the death toll stands at 1,625.
Earlier this month, private school managements and government teachers had demanded that physical classes be restarted for primary and upper primary students in the state. According to reports, the teachers submitted a representation to Chitra Ramachandran, Special Chief Secretary, Education, demanding that physical classes for students for classes 6-8 be started on February 15, and for classes 1-5 be started on February 22.
Since February 1, high schools in Telangana have reopened and have been running smoothly. Even in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh, schools have reopened for all classes. The teachers also added that it would help students to attend physical classes for at least a couple of months this academic year.
The Telangana State United Teachers Federation has also requested the state government to recruit sanitation workers for all government schools in the state.