HYDERABAD: A surge in the
novel coronavirus cases, particularly among students, forced the
Telangana government on Tuesday to shut down all educational institutions in the state again, barring
medical colleges, from Wednesday onwards. Online classes and distance learning will continue as earlier during the shutdown period.
With health authorities already announcing that Telangana is on the verge of a second wave of Covid-19, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao took stock of the situation and ordered the shutdown.
“As number of coronavirus cases are being reported from
residential schools and students in schools are testing positive, the government has taken a decision to shut them down temporarily,” chief secretary Somesh Kumar told TOI.
Over the past week, at least 600 students across private and state-run schools and residential facilities have tested positive for the virus, worrying parents and authorities.
The second round of closure of schools due to Covid-19 came just 51 days after they reopened on February 1 after a gap of 10 months, since the nationwide lockdown was announced in March 2020.
“All educational institutions in Telangana including schools, colleges, hostels, gurukuls in the government and private sector will be closed. However, medical colleges have been exempted from the shutdown orders,” another official said.
Telangana education minister Sabitha Indra Reddy made an announcement to this effect on the floor of the Assembly on Tuesday, saying that the decision was taken after careful examination of rising cases and many representations from parents. “The government will wait and watch before taking any decision on extending the shutdown or reviving offline classes. No decision has been taken on the postponement of any examinations,” she said, indicating that they may be conducted as per schedule if coronavirus is kept under check.