Parents & teachers get jittery as schools reopen: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy

Amaravati: With the reports of Covid positive cases among students surfacing in some districts and amidst reports of an expert committee that the third wave may peak by October, parents are caught in the grip of fear over the safety of their children.

It may be noted that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials for effective implementation of Covid-19 protocols in schools. He asked the officials to arrange Covid testing for symptomatic students. The state government also directed the officials to ensure the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in schools to prevent spread of Covid. But at the field level both the teachers and parents are facing several problems to protect the health of children.

On the other hand, the government schools are facing a peculiar problem this academic year with an increase in admissions. The demand for admissions in Government schools is increasing in urban areas. As per the official records, the number of students in government schools increased to 43.43 lakh from 37.20 lakh for the past two-and-a- half years. With the ongoing Covid pandemic and deteriorating income sources, the majority of the people are preferring to send their children to government schools as they are unable to pay the increased fee in private educational institutions violating Government's directions to reduce 30 per cent fee due to the Covid pandemic.

As per Covid protocol, the teachers must accommodate only 20 students in a classroom. If there are not enough classrooms, the teachers are forced to conduct the classes on alternative days for all the sections starting from 6th to 9th class.

In addition, the teachers are facing a tough time to maintain sanitation in schools due to lack of funds. Majority of the teachers appealed to the government to entrust the sanitation supervision to an officer for the safety of children.

A mother of two kids, Rajeswari of Vijayawada said she is sending her two kids to school but worried about their safety amidst the pandemic.

Andhra Pradesh Teachers' Federation state general secretary Panduranga Varaprasad said cent per cent vaccination of teachers should be completed. He said that teachers are managing to maintain social distance by limiting 20 students for each class but are unable to control the students during midday meal timings.

He said it is becoming a Herculean task for teachers to see that social distance is maintained during lunch hour as the majority of students prefer to sit together while eating. Imagine the situation in schools having a strength of one thousand students, he added. He stressed the need for supplying sanitiser liquid to schools.

Speaking to The Hans India, Municipal Teachers' Federation state president S Ramakrishna said a sanitation supervisor should be posted for each school to supervise sanitation. He said the majority of the schools are facing problems due to lack of maintenance in toilets and overhead tanks posing threat to the health of children. He said the government should provide funds to maintain sanitation in schools.