In light of the recent surge in covid-19 cases that has buzzed all alarms, the Telangana government has announced the temporary closure of all educational institutions and hostels across the state, except medical colleges starting Wednesday. The orders come with immediate effect following the declaration of all necessary notices regarding the shutdown. While the regular classes will be discontinued, digital classes can be resumed, as per the announcement.
There had been speculation pertaining to the closure of schools, colleges and other educational centres since the past few days after many other states announced their respective measures to curb the spread of the virus. With schools becoming the hotspot of the deadly infection, Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy highlighted its proof in the neighbouring states who have already closed their institutions.
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On Tuesday, she stated in the Assembly the current scenario in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Punjab as they are witnessing an increasing number of cases each day. The situation is getting worse as clusters of cases are being found intermittently in many regions of the state, especially educational institutions. With students gathering in large numbers in schools and colleges, there is every chance of many new cases emerging with every passing day, the minister said.
Apart from this, there is a growing number of requests from worried parents regarding the safety of their children if the physical classroom teaching continues. Putting an end to the concerns, Ms Reddy said, “Hence, it has been decided to declare the closure of all educational institutions including government and private educational institutions along with hostels from Wednesday. Online classes can be continued.”
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As such, all citizens are advised to follow the rules and cooperate with the government in making efforts to stop the further spread of the virus. It asked people to continue abiding by the guidelines and safety norms mentioned as part of the covid-19 measures like wearing masks, following social distancing, staying afar from public places, washing hands often for 20 seconds at least or sanitizing when water is not available.
While all colleges, schools, hostels and other institutional centres will remain closed from tomorrow, the notice isn’t applicable to medical colleges.
