After a gap of almost seven months, schools and colleges reopened in the State on Monday. High schools, junior, degree and PG colleges began half-day classes by following COVID-19 rules.
Schools began classes for ninth and tenth classes. Attendance in some schools was thin while in some institutions a good turnout of students was witnessed.
Officials of the School Education Department visited some government and private schools and enquired about the arrangements. Seating was arranged for only 16 students for each room and only half-day schools were being conducted, said a school headmaster.
There are about 21,000 high schools in the State.
Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh said 42% of students attended schools on the first day on Monday. A woman staffer of a model school and two students of Nellore district tested positive.
The institutions were sanitised and necessary treatment would be provided to the patients.
Sanitiser bottles were kept at office rooms, corridors and in some classrooms. Students attended classes by wearing masks and carried water bottles.
Guidelines issued
“About 5.2 lakh Intermediate second year students are studying in 3,000 junior colleges in A.P. Dos and Don’ts have been issued to all institutions,” said Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) Secretary V. Ramakrishna.
Classes were conducted from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Students could also attend classes online. All the teaching and non-teaching staff were instructed to wear masks, gloves and maintain social distance, Mr. Ramakrishna said.
At some schools and colleges, parents were seen dropping their wards on their own vehicles. However, educational institution managements are not operating school and college buses.
