Telangana: Parents, doctors shocked

Hyderabad: The decision of the State Government to reopen all educational institutions from KG to PG has led parents and medical experts to express concern over the safety of children. Hyderabad Parents' Association president Venkat urged the government to reconsider the decision. He said that it was not correct to reopen all educational institutions from pre-primary to PG level in one go. There was no such great hurry and no one asked for it, he said.

Taking such a decision at a time when the National Institute of Disaster Management had cautioned the Prime Minister's Office that the third wave of Covid-19 would likely peak in October was really shocking, he said. He felt that the government should have first decided to start physical classes from 9 to 12 and up to PG.

He said neither the government nor the schools will take any responsibility for the children. They will take an undertaking from the parents that they were sending the students on their own risk. It is not possible to ensure that the children up to 6th class keep their masks on throughout and maintain social distancing. The government should have formed a committee of pediatricians and experts before taking such a decision, he said.

Even some medical experts expressed apprehensions over the decision of the government. The parents of children in the pre-primary to class six too are apprehensive. They feel that if the government was not willing to reconsider the decision, then it should give an option. Those who do not want to send their children to schools should be allowed to continue with online classes.

This suggestion of not forcing the parents has been welcomed and supported by Teachers and Parents Association as well. The Association claimed that majority of the schools wanted the institutions should be reopened but at the same time one cannot ignore the concern of the parents and hence if someone does not want to send their children, they should be allowed to continue with online classes.