Telangana Educational Institutions Temporarily Closed From March 24 Due To Spike In COVID Cases

HYDERABAD: The Government of Telangana has decided to temporarily close all educational institutions across the State, after thoroughly reviewing the COVID-19 situation and the spike in cases in the state in the last couple of weeks. Keeping in mind the health of students and teachers, Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy made this announcement in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that all the schools, colleges and universities other educational institutions across the State will remain closed temporarily from March 24, i.e., from Wednesday, as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of corona in the state at the request of parents. These closure orders apply to all hostels, gurukul schools, government, and private educational institutions in the state except medical colleges. Online classes for students will continue as usual, she said.

The Minister urged the people of the state to co-operate and follow measures taken to prevent coronavirus including wearing masks, observe physical distance and take precautions like sanitation, washing hands etc. 

She stated that there was a surge in COVID-19 cases reported from educational institutes in Telangana after offline classes for school students had resumed in the state for students of classes 9 to 12. The government will now review the situation and decide whether the offline classes should go on or they be shifted to online methods.

The schools in Telangana had been shut down in March 2020 due to the rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country and the nationwide lockdown.

She said that the virus was once again spreading in the country. The same situation is seen in our neighbouring states. Scattered corona cases are also being reported in educational institutions in our state. The government believes that there is a danger of the cases exploding in large numbers as teaching and non-teaching activities in educational institutions take place where the children are all seated closely.

 Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and other states have already closed educational institutions, she said.

There is also a concern being raised about the spread of coronavirus in the students by the parents and  requests made to the government to close educational institutions temporarily. Keeping this in mind and the health of the students  and teachers  all educational institutions will be closed temporarily, she said.