Telangana: Parents' body wary of reopening of schools

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) has demanded that the State government introduce a blended instruction if it has decided to reopen schools from February 1.

Reacting to the State government decision to running regular classes for students of Class 9 and above from February 1, HSPA working president Seema Agarwal suggested conduct of online polls to understand the requirements of parents. Meanwhile, several parents took to Twitter to express their disappointment over the decision.

Seemasaid that the government should ensure all safe measures for students at schools. "Every time we had conducted a poll, nearly 92% were against the restarting of schools. There's a group of 4,500 parents and we have taken their views and none of them wants their children to go to schools. There should be no compulsion of Offline classes," she said.

The association conducted an online survey which showed that a majority of parents were not willing to send children without first undergoing vaccination and wanted continuation of virtual classes. The parents were also eagerly waiting for a decision on the pandemic fee relief.

According to the survey on twitter by the HSPA and on Telegram, only 14% of parents are in support of reopening schools and nearly 86% felt that schools should remain shut till the vaccine is available. Many said they not confident of schools following safety protocols.

Sumithra, a member of HSPA, said that her child is in Class 10 and was refrained from going to school."My child is in the 9th standard but I haven't thought of sending him," said MrudulaAlamuru, another member of HSPA.