Hyderabad: Schools see spike in student strength

Rajendranagar: Following reopening of the high school section from February, the strength of students in government and Panchayat Raj schools under Rajendranagar and Gandipet mandals in Ranga Reddy district is growing gradually. On the other hand, parents still have concerns about the safety of their children.

There are 79 schools in Rajendranagar and Gandipet mandals. Of them 51 are running in Rajendranagar, while 28 institutions are located in Gandipet. While Rajendranagar has five government schools, Gandipet mandal carries only one in Narsingi. The remaining schools in both mandals are serving under the supervision of Panchayat Raj department.

Together these mandals have a total of 14 high schools with a strength of 1,498 students in class IX and 1,480 students in class X. However, as on February 13, only 59 per cent attendance has been registered in class IX, while class X students fared a little bit better with 67 per cent attendance.

On the other hand, the schools in Shamshabad, a mandal next to Rajendranagar, is performing a bit better than its neighbour with 75-80 per cent attendance registered in class IX and 80-85 per cent in class X during the same period. Shamshabad mandal has a total of 71 schools, of which three are government-run, while the remaining are Panchayat Raj schools.

"The volume of attendance has increased thereafter and presently the proportion stands at 65-70 per cent in class IX and 75 per cent in class X as on March 1. Parents, who are well off and concerned about their children's safety, are still walking a fine line by holding a wait-and-watch policy, while the poor parents, largely from the labour community, are sending their children to schools regularly. This makes a difference and is reflecting on the overall attendance of schools in Rajendranagar and Gandipet mandals," informed D Ram Reddy, In-charge Mandal Education Officer, Rajendranagar.

"Following the resumption of upper primary classes VI, VII and VIII from February 24, the volume of attendance has increased a little bit in schools. However, much more time is needed for parents to decide and dispel their concerns about safety of their wards as the situation in neighboring States, where Coronavirus cases are swelling again, are still ticking like a time bomb," said Prof Ameeruddin, an academician.