Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced that schools in the state will reopen from August 3. In a review meeting with the education department, the minister directed the officials to ensure all precautionary measures are taken before the reopening of the schools and that social distancing norms are followed.

Reddy also asked the education department to ensure that the renovation of the Andhra Pradesh schools is completed under the ‘Nadu-Nedu’ scheme. The government had decided to renovate 15,751 schools in the first phase of the project. The government has also released funds of Rs 456 crore to speed up the development and renovation work of the schools. The work is expected to be completed by the end of July. The CM directed officials to maintain nine key elements in every school that include playground, library, science laboratory and computer laboratory.

Meanwhile, the education department is also providing grades to schools based on its infrastructure and facilities. Fees will then be fixed as per the grading of the schools.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh: Govt cancels annual exams, classes 6 to 9 students promoted

Earlier, the AP government decided to cancel the annual examinations for classes 6 to 9 and promote all students to the next class due to the lockdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “Since the state has been under a lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus till April 14, it is not feasible to conduct annual examinations for students of classes 6 to 9. Therefore, it has been decided to cancel the summative assessment II for these classes and declare the students as ”all pass”,” the commissioner of school education Vadrevu China Veerabhadrudu said in a memo to regional joint directors and district educational officers.