Amaravati, May 19 (IANS): After a long break, partly due to the COVID-19 outbreak, schools in Andhra Pradesh are all set to reopen from August 3. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy directed departmental officers to complete the first phase of development works in schools by July-end, so that schools can be reopened on August 3.

During the course of a video conference, the Chief Minister instructed all the district collectors to take an active role and evaluate the daily progress of the works completed under the scheme.

Additionally, he asked the officials to make sure there is no shortage of supply for sand and cement for the repair works in schools.

In the first phase, nearly 15,715 schools will get a makeover with a revolving budget of Rs 456 crore. Overall, nine development works, including the school infrastructure and basic facilities, are to be taken up under the 'Nadu-Nedu' scheme.

The state government intends to time the launch of the 'Jagananna Vidya Kanuka' scheme with the schools' reopening on August 3. Under the scheme, school kits containing school uniforms, books, shoes and socks will be distributed among 36,10,000 students of the state.

Schools in Andhra Pradesh were initially closed from March 19 to March 31, due to the emerging COVID-19 situation. But as the situation worsened, and an extended national lockdown was put in place, schools have remained closed since. The closure also coincided partly with school annual summer vacations in the state. Normally, the schools in Andhra Pradesh reopen every year on June 12 after summer vacations end.