Schools and pre-university colleges will not reopen in Karnataka in December.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday after a meeting with Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar said that the department had taken this decision in the interest of students.
He said that the next decision on reopening would be taken in the third week of December after the State technical advisory committee meets again. Mr. Kumar also said that the Vidyagama programme where teachers would visit neighbourhoods of students from government schools and conduct classes, would also not be conducted. This programme was stopped in October after it was reported that students who had attended these classes had contracted the virus.
Karnataka COVID-19 Technical committee recommends not to open schools in December
Mr. Kumar however ruled out announcing a zero academic year and said that teaching and learning would be conducted through other means. “Teachers are conducting lessons on YouTube, Whatsapp and other online means. This will continue,” he said. In addition to these, televised classes are being conducted on DD Chandana.
The COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee had recommended not reopening schools in December. The committee headed by M.K. Sudarshan met on Sunday and concluded that it was not advisable to reopen schools in the State before the number of COVID-19 cases were brought under control.
