TRSMA bandh: Private schools stay closed, parents and teachers upset

HYDERABAD: In view of the bandh call given by Telangana Recognised Schools Management Association (TRSMA), most private schools in the city, irrespective of their affiliation, had declared a holiday on Friday.  

TRSMA had given a bandh call protesting against the State government’s decision making it mandatory for the schools to obtain No Objection Certificates from fire department, traffic control and the corporation.

While parents criticised the move and called it a ploy by the schools to further pressurise the government from acting against them in their massive profiteering, teachers were unhappy that exam schedule had to be adjusted due to the bandh.

Glendale Academy, Chirec, Future Kids, Kalpa, Brilliant High School, Slate the School and Kennedy High the Global School were among the schools which were shut on Friday, either supporting the bandh call or declared holiday as a precautionary measure.

Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA) condemned the bandh call for not just disrupting academic schedule but also involving the students in a fight that’s not theirs.HSPA in a statement said that it was “unbelievable... that a government which is supporting school managements on the gross violation of every single norm related to regulation of schools and fees charged would not be looking into these issues raised by schools.”

Ashish Naredi, a parent, said that schools are projecting that parents and teachers are supporting their demands.“This is false and if schools are so concerned about the welfare then they should they implement GO MS 1 and give 50  per cent of the fee as salaries to teachers and constitute parents teachers association. But all they do is muzzle teachers voices if they protest by sacking them and that of parents by harassing students,” he said.

Meanwhile, the teaching community too felt the bandh was ill-timed with examinations ongoing in most schools and in others commencing from next week. Abdul Moiz, from a private school in Old City, said that despite requests from the principal of his school TRSMA did not reconsider the dates.