Just three days after educational institutions reopened, there is lot of uneasiness and tension among parents in Chittoor district as 150 teachers of government schools tested positive to the COVID-19 virus, followed by nine students. The figure is likely to up in the next three days when more results are awaited.
District Educational Officer (Chittoor) Narasimha Reddy confirmed that 150 teachers of government schools had tested positive to the dreaded virus. He said in spite of this, the COVID-19 rules were being strictly adhered to in all the schools. “Testing for teachers and students in private schools commenced on Wednesday,” he said.
The teachers who had tested positive to the virus were mostly from Srikalahasti, Tirupati, Madanapalle, Chittoor, Punganur, Palamaner and Ramasamudram mandals. The incidence is being felt equally in both rural and urban areas.
Low attendance
According to information, the attendance among students remained below 50% in private schools, while it was close to 60% in government schools. The figure was slightly higher in rural areas. However, the figure is expected to dwindle further in the coming days, according to a government school headmaster in Srikalahasti mandal, where a school was temporarily closed after three staff had tested positive.
What is worrying the teachers more is that several students were attending the school without facemasks and sanitisers. “Though the rules are stipulated on paper, the ground reality is different. Though facemasks were supplied to students, there is no proper response from them. Moreover, students and we (teachers) too find it very difficult to wear a mask continuously for more than an hour in the classroom,” a government teacher at Madanapalle, who tested positive, said.
436 cases
As per the Tuesday’s bulletin, Chittoor district recorded 436 cases, causing concern to the COVID-19 task force officials, teachers and parents. With the frequency of RTC buses in the rural areas yet to pick up, it led to inconvenience among the students, and this had directly led to fall in the attendance.
A 58-year-old woman teacher at KVB Puram mandal said: “I am desperate to apply for medical leave. I am a diabetic. Wearing of mask continuously is a very big task in practical sense. In a closed classroom, it’s risky to teach the lesson. To be frank, the current academic year too is going to be a namesake one as last year,” she said.
