The long wait of students has finally ended as the schools and colleges in Kodagu are set to reopen for resuming physical classes for the first time this year in the wake of the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) falling below 2% in the district. The classes will resume from Friday.

The government had not permitted schools and colleges to reopen in Kodagu in view of the worrying TPR, which was above 2% for a long period. Thus, even as schools reopened in other districts, they remained closed in Kodagu. Kodagu’s proximity to Kerala was another reason the State went slow on reopening schools.

Classroom teaching for students of classes VI to X and PU will begin from Friday as government, aided and unaided schools will reopen. All PU colleges will reopen for offline classes.

Schools and colleges have been told to resume physical classes strictly complying with the SOPs issued by the government, said a note from the Deputy Commissioner on Tuesday.

As per the COVID-19 guidelines, the staff at the hostels run by the departments of Social Welfare and Backward Classes must have taken at least one dose of vaccine. Staff at schools and colleges too must have taken at least one dose.

The Deputy Commissioner has asked schools, colleges and hostels to sanitise their premises before the commencement of physical classes. The students of degree and above courses should at least be partially vaccinated. Schools and colleges have been asked to ensure the parents of students are vaccinated. One room in a school/college should be reserved as isolation room.

Nearly 97% of admissions in Kodagu schools have been completed and children were awaiting the start of physical classes as the hurdles in Internet connectivity have bothered them most, unlike children in other districts. In Kodagu, there are about 37,000 children studying from Classes VI to X.

Dakshina Kannada too has announced the opening of classes from September 17 for students of classes VIII and above, and from September 20 for students of classes VI and VII.