In a significant move, the AP High Court on 25th September directed authorities to ensure that all schools shut by 4.30 pm every day. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice K.C. Bhanu granted the order while dealing with a taken up petition based on a letter written by one Ramgopal Yadav of Ranga Reddy district.The petitioner had brought to the notice of the court that children were being put through stress by being made to attend classes sometimes beyond 8 pm by the managements of private schools. He contended that this was robbing the kids of their childhood. The petitioner urged the Chief Justice to direct the authorities to issue necessary orders to all schools in the state to fix the school timings from 9 am to 4 pm so that students could give time to sports and extracurricular activities and spend time at home.HC seeks response from stateThe Andhra Pradesh High Court had sought a response from the state government which had informed that the State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT) and experts had also recommended that the schools should function only between 9 am to 4.30 pm. While recording the response of the government, the bench directed the authorities to take necessary steps to implement the timings strictly. The bench also cautioned school managements that violation of timings would be viewed seriously.