The Telangana government ordered the shutdown of all educational institutions in the state due to the rise in the number of coronavirus cases across the country. The private school owners and teachers staged a protest in front of the Hyderabad Collectorate on Saturday. They criticised the government for taking such a drastic decision and said that it was inappropriate to shut down schools in the name of coronavirus.

They questioned whether coronavirus cases would not increase if bars, restaurants, and many other public places stayed open. They expressed anguish over the government saying they had used the premises during the MLC elections.

The management of private schools rued that they were unable to run schools as they were running into debts. They further added that they would convert the schools into bars and restaurants if the government gave permission. They said that if the government did not revoke its decision on the closure of schools, it should issue bar licenses to the schools. They asked why KCR had sent a circular to close educational institutions when he announced that there was no lockdown in the state.

It is worth mentioning here that on the concluding day of the Budget session in the Telangana Assembly, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao ruled out the imposition of another lockdown in the state. KCR announced that the educational institutions were being closed only at the request of parents of the students who were scared to send their children to school. Government officials said that educational institutions were not only closed in Telangana but also in many other states.

Telangana State United Teachers Federation’s (TSUTF) general secretary Chava Ravi said, "Many teachers have lost their jobs and some have not even received their salaries yet." Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy on March 23 had said in the Assembly, "All educational institutions (schools, colleges, hostels, gurukul institutes) in Telangana, except medical colleges, have been closed down in view of the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases."