The Karnataka government has decided that schooling for students of classes 9 and 11 will resume starting from February 1 for the first time since they were shut due to the pandemic in 2020. This decision was announced by Education Minister S Suresh Kumar after Health Minister Dr Sudhakar held a meeting with the Technical Advisory Committee on Thursday appointed by the state government.
The Primary and Secondary Education Department has also suggested that Class 10 board exams or SSLC exams should be held between June 14-25. A decision was also made to continue the Vidyagama scheme to continue for Classes 6-8. The committee will again meet in the coming week to decide if normal classes should resume for junior classes.
TNM had earlier reported how many academics and civil society groups were urging the state government to reopen schools citing multiple reasons. This included the risks of children taking up work, turning to marriage and discontinuing their education.
Academics argued that students from classes 5 and above need to be in the school environment learning from their peers and from teachers.
Unlike their private school counterparts, Karnataka government school students have not had regular online classes in this academic year. The state government started the Vidyagama scheme or the community learning scheme in July before shutting it down in October. The state government's decision came amid reports of COVID-19 cases among teachers and students.
Regular classes for 10 and 12 had already begun starting from January 1. The attendance on day 1 was reported to be 41% across the state. Teachers were made to take a COVID-19 test before reporting to take classes in Karnataka. The state government held meetings with the health department about reopening schools for students of lower classes. "The Technical Advisory Committee will meet again in the second week of February 2021 to take due decision on the opening of the remaining classes," a release shared by the state government said.