As many as 130 students between classes I and X have tested positive for COVID-19, data collated from all 34 educational districts as on Monday by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has revealed.
The reports have been submitted by educational institutions where clusters were found. The highest number of COVID-19 cases has been reported in Chikkamagaluru district with 92 cases. All these students belong to the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.
However, sources in the department said while the number of positive cases may be higher, these are the official statistics which have been collated by the department and reported by educational institutions.
Inspections
With many COVID-19 clusters being reported in educational institutions, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education is likely to send their teams to inspect residential institutions.
B.C. Nagesh, Primary and Secondary Education Minister told The Hindu that all Deputy Directors of Public Instruction have been instructed to send teams to conduct surprise checks to ensure that the hostels are complying with COVID-19 norms and following SOPs.
The Minister also said that the department was adopting the wait-and-watch approach and would continue with offline classes. “We are worried about the COVID-19 clusters but are keeping a watch on schools. We have told schools that even if one case is detected, all their primary contacts should be tested,” Mr. Nagesh said.
He also said that the examination stands as per schedule. “We will not take any decision on our own and will follow the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee,” he said.
However, sources in the department said that they had been asked to chalk out an alternative plan to assess students if cases rise exponentially. “We have been asked to be prepared for what assessment method needs to be used if the examination has to be cancelled,” the source said. The Department of Pre-University Education has also started a survey to check how many students are vaccinated and how many are not eligible for vaccination.
Dip in attendance
Meanwhile, on Monday, many private schools reported a dip in attendance as they demanded vaccination certificates from parents of students.
Lokesh Talikatte, State unit president, Recognised Unaided Private Schools’ Association, Karnataka, said that they had seen a dip in attendance on Monday. “Some schools have reported a 50% drop in attendance as we have started checking vaccination certificates,” he said.
However, some school managements said that they had seen no dip in attendance as they had not yet started checking the vaccination certificates of students’ parents. D. Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools said that they would begin checking the vaccination certificates from Wednesday. “We have now spread awareness on the need to produce vaccination certificates. We will begin checking from Wednesday,” he said.
Government school teachers have submitted a list of names of students whose parents have not been vaccinated to the closest Primary Health Centre.
