Hyderabad, Jan 29 (IANS): After a long Sankranti festival vacation, schools and colleges in Telangana are set to reopen on February 1. Telangana Education Minister Sabita Indra Reddy announced on Saturday that all educational institutions in the state will resume classes in physical-mode, from Tuesday. She made it clear that it is mandatory for all educational institutions to implement Covid regulations on premises.

The decision comes in the wake of declining Covid numbers in the state, as also the fact that several other states are gradually resuming physical-mode classes.

Schools in Telangana had closed for Sankranti vacations from January 8 to January 18. However, due to rising number of Covid cases, the state government had on January 16, further extended the holidays till January 30. The government had however permitted schools to conduct online classes during this period.

The state government's announcement comes a day after the High Court had queried it on the issue.

On Friday, the High Court had asked if the state government would reopen schools on January 31. The state government counsel had replied that a decision on the matter is pending.