Will heavens fall if school students are not taught online during this pandemic, questions Telangana High court

Hyderabad: The High Court Chief Justice Bench hearing of a plea on online classes in schools in Telangana on Friday expressed deep discontent over the contradictory statements made by the State and Central governments. On one hand, the State says it has referred this issue to the Cabinet Sub Committee, which is yet to make a decision and till that decision is out, the State government wants the private schools to fleece the parents with exorbitant fees. The Central government, on the other hand, says though it has directed schools not to operate, yet it has accorded permission to hold online classes, the bench opined.

The High Court Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy heard a Public Interest Litigation filed by Hyderabad School Parents Association seeking strict action against the managements of all the private schools in the Telangana State which are holding online classes to its students and collecting term fees from parents, in the absence of any such permission from the Government.

While refusing to grant relief to the petitioner in directing all the private schools to refrain from holding online classes to its students and from collecting tuition fee on the ground that without hearing the schools, the Court said it cannot issue a direction.

The Chief Justice Bench posed a straight question to the senior counsel Adinarayana Rao, representing a group of private schools, imparting CBSE syllabus to its students and are holding online classes to its students as to whether really the heavens are falling if children studying in their schools are not imparted education in this turbulent circumstances prevailing in the State and country, the pandemic situation which is the most critical situation of the 21st century, we are facing, CJ expressed deep concern.

Counsel for a group of private schools operating in Telangana informed the Court that for the last two months, private schools are holding online classes to its students as per the guidelines issued by the CBSE and National Council for Teachers Education. The parents are advised to provide laptops with internet facilities so that children continue their education online.

States like Delhi have already completed two months of classes and it is for the benefit of the students, failing which the students will lose an academic year. Counsel Adinarayana Rao reiterated his contention that if the students are not imparted education online, then this academic year will come to a standstill. Sanjeev Kumar, Special GP representing the State government informed the Bench that the academic year commenced from June12 in the State and almost 15 days of the academic year have already passed. The present issue has been referred to the Cabinet Sub-committee, which is yet to take a final decision and once the decision is out, it will be informed to the Court.

The State government has already issued instructions to all the private schools and colleges to refrain from holding classes till July 31 but the central government has permitted the private schools to go ahead with holding online classes, Sanjeev Kumar added.

The contradictory statements by the state and the central government have given ample opportunity to the private schools to fleece the parents to cough up exorbitant tuition fee saddled with a burden of providing laptops and internet to their children so that their wards participate in the online classes, the Bench observed.

Children hailing from Delhi come from influential families who can afford laptops and internet but the parents living in Telangana State are not so well off. Forget about providing two laptops to their children but it is very difficult for them to provide two square meals a day to their progeny and except Hyderabad, Secunderabad and RR District, the internet facility in other districts of the state are shoddy as there are frequent power cuts.

Moreover, forget about the schools in tribal areas in Adilabad equipped with internet facility, even in NALSAR Law University and High Court, we have shoddy internet facility, CJ Chauhan opined.

Chief Justice RS Chauhan said during this pandemic, it is not only the academic year of the students which is on a standstill but, it is the migrant lives, which are on a standstill, it is the construction workers lives, which are on standstill and it is the judiciary which is on a standstill. Nearly 20 employees working in the Telangana High Court registry are down with Covid-19 and on Thursday, the High Court has lost one of its employees working in the Judicial Academy, who succumbed due to Covid-19, said the CJ saddened with the happenings in the State judicial sector.

The CJ Bench directed the petitioner counsel Yakarapu Sheelu to implead all such private schools which are holding online classes despite clear permissions from the State Government. Advocate General Banda Shivananda Prasad was directed to get clear instructions on the State's policy decision on this issue and the Central government and also directed to file its counter-affidavit. For further hearing, the matter was adjourned to July 13.