Hyderabad: Schools have to comply with affiliation, government norms

Hyderabad: Going against the norms while several schools in the State have launched online education to students of Class VIII to XII, the State School Education Department seems to have decided to look other way.

It may be mentioned here that several schools affiliated to the CBSE, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISE), International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Telangana State School Education (TSSE) have announced the launching of online classes to the students.

However, according to sources, the private schools, both the budget schools and elite schools have not made any formal request to the Education authorities on reopening of the schools.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official of the Education Department said, "Physically or virtually, schools calling students to attend classes announcing the reopening of the schools in a given academic year has to be done as per the regulations of the affiliated bodies."

Accordingly, neither the CBSE, ICSE nor the SSED has announced the date for the reopening of the schools for the academic year 2020-21. Further, the State government has issued guidelines barring the schools from reopening of schools and colleges under the Covid-19 norms.

Against this backdrop, the official pointed out that without prior permission from the State government, "No school is authorised to commence the academic year." Similarly, the State government has also issued a circular regarding collecting school fees and not to hike the fees for the ensuing academic year. These regulations prevail over every school in the State, irrespective of the board that they are affiliated to, he clarified.

When asked about the physical reopening of the schools, he said, "Discussions are going on at the highest level and there is no finality reached on the issue." Adding, "The department will act if any complaint from parents is received on schools forcing them to pay the fees in the name of the virtual reopening of the schools," he said.