Its a catch-22 situation for schools, colleges

HYDERABAD: Stuck in a Catch-22 situation, schools in the twin cities refrained from conducting classes, while others remained partially open to cover the syllabus for class 10 and 12 students scheduled to appear for the board exams.The school managements which were caught in a tug of war between parents and the agitators, welcomed the chief minister’s stand on zero tolerance for those disrupting the education system. On Monday when the schools were scheduled to reopen after Dasara vacation, police vans being parked outside the schools were a reassuring sight for the parents.To avoid risking the safety of children, many schools held classes only for the higher classes.“Physics syllabus for class 12 is lagging behind by two units which would have been covered otherwise. Keeping in view of the pre-final exams and the board exams, we have decided to conduct classes for those students,” T.M Renitha, a physics teacher at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Begumpet, said.Fearing retribution, many schools chose to remain shut till October 14 and notified the same to the parents. “There have been incidents of stone-pelting at some schools. Even the answer sheets of the students have been snatched away by the protestors while mid-term exams were being conducted.As we don’t want to risk it, our school will remain closed till a decision is reached,” Sehra Tanvir Fatima Rizvi, headmistress of Hyderabad Concept School, who attended a meeting called by the Greater Hyderabad School Parents Association at Moghulpura, said.The meeting called by the association at Masab Tank saw police personnel outnumbering the parents and educationists who resolved to meet the chief minister to ensure that educational institutions were not affected further by the strike. The major concern of parents and teachers alike has been the completion of syllabus on time for the exams. Schools holding extra classes to complete syllabus Students appearing for board exams this year will face a barrage of extra classes and extended school hours to make up for the classes lost.Many schools in the city have decided to work on weekends and extend the school hours to complete the syllabus. “We have probably lost three to four days of classes. The students of Class 10, 11 and 12 have always had an extra hour of classes to keep abreast of the syllabus. If need be, the Sankranti vacation will be cut-short to give time for revision,” Keerti Chaturvedi, vice-principal of Hyderabad Public School, said. “We will work on Saturdays and if there are no further shutdowns, students will be ready for the ICSE board exams to be held in March,” Madhavi Chandra, principal of Gitanjali School, said.As the deadline for online submission of forms for CBSE board exams draws closer, the teachers were finding it difficult to bring students out of the holiday mood that has set in. Junior colleges remain closed Junior colleges in the twin cities have been unable to conduct regular classes since the strike started as APSRTC buses were off the roads. “After studying the situation for a few days, we will decide when to reopen the colleges in the twin-cities. However, the students will have to attend special classes,” B. Vivekananda, media in-charge of Narayana Junior College, said.General secretary of Government Junior College Lecturers Association Madhusudhan Reddy implied that the situation in government junior colleges is volatile and till a decision is reached or till further orders from the Employee JAC none of the members will report to duty