HYDERABAD: Schools in urban districts of the State have always struggled with crowded classrooms. Data reveals that around 75% of the schools in the State have only four to six classrooms while only 1.5 per cent have more than 15 classrooms. With Classes VI to VIII resuming, will the schools be able to maintain the mandated 6-foot distance between pupils to avoid the spread of Covid-19?
According to the Unified District Information System for Education, an average of 40 students study in each school classroom across the State. If the 6-foot social distance is to be maintained, then each classroom should have less than 15 students or not more than 20, depending on the size of an average classroom.
Hyderabad district has 2,885 schools that have 8,527 classrooms to accommodate over 8.8 lakh students. The schools have an average student to classroom ratio of 23. But not all schools in the twin cities have the same ratio. For instance, Marredpally mandal has around 68 schools with 186 classrooms. Each school classroom in this mandal has an average of 47 students.
The distancing would be difficult once more students start attending school. Presently, around 80 per cent of Class IX and X students, for whom schools reopened on Feb 1, are attending school. According to the teachers, the 350 government schools that are in Hyderabad are a little spacious. “We will not have much trouble in maintaining social distancing among students as most government schools have big playgrounds and wide corridors,” said Ch Ravi, General Secretary of Telangana State Union Teachers Federation. “However, most of the budget private schools in the city will have a hard time as they are small and have higher enrolments,” he added.