Is the YS Jagan Government’s policy on the reopening of the schools in the state turning out to be a non-starter. If all goes well, the schools are set to reopen from August 16. But, the conditions imposed by the state government ensure that it would be very difficult to run the schools.

For instance, those children whose grandparents live with them have been asked not to come to the schools. Similarly, the parents are advised not to send their wards to the school in auto rickshaws and schools. The school buses and vans will have to run on only 50 percent occupancy. All these mean that running the school buses or vans would become financially unviable. As a result, the parents will have to drop and pick up their parents on their own.

Another condition stipulates that schools can be opened in an area only if the cases are less than 10 per cent. Further, the number of students per class cannot exceed 20 per class. The teachers are expected not to exchange pens, pencils, tiffin boxes and other material. The management of the educational institutions will have to get two students and one teacher per week checked on a random basis. Every student has to be thermally screened.

With all these conditions, running the school becomes extremely difficult. The schools will have to make special arrangements to manage the covid cases. Preventive measures also become very important and the administration will have to make special arrangements to run the schools.