Telangana's Education Minister rules out the idea of closing schools, colleges owing to Omicron scare 

Education Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy on Tuesday ruled out the idea of closure of schools in the light of the Omicron variant having been detected in India. 

The minister, after a review of the situation, said, "There is no alarm now. No school is affected. A COVID outbreak has been reported only at a few hostels but we are taking all steps to contain the spread of the virus. At the moment, we do not have any proposal to shut down the schools."

The minister said that instructions have been given to the head masters to ensure that all the teachers in schools are fully vaccinated. "We are also asking the parents of the students to take two doses of vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus from them to the children. The cooks who prepare the mid day meals must be also fully vaccinated," she said.

The Minister said that children have lost a year due to COVID-19 and the government does not want to repeat the same situation as it could lead to a learning gap among kids. "Children who were in Class 3 had to be promoted to Class 5 without studying in Class 4," she said, pointing out that all collectors have been asked to keep a close watch on schools and ensure adherence to COVID-appropriate protocols.