Consider holding online classes for a few hours: HC to Karnataka govt

The Karnataka High Court on Friday asked the state government to consider allowing online classes till class 5 for a few hours every day.

The bench said since the state government is waiting for the report from an expert committee on the matter, it would be better to have online classes for a limited amount of time.

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Nataraj Rangaswamy heard a batch of petitions filed by parents and educational institutions challenging the ban on online classes for children from KG to class 5.

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The bench said the state government has to come out with an interim solution for online classes till a decision is taken based on the report submitted by the committee on technology-enabled education.

“Prima facie, we are of the view that the state government could not have prevented online classes by passing a blanket order,” the bench noted.

The bench observed that the state government constituted an expert committee only after it banned online classes. The hearing was adjourned to June 29 after the state sought time.

The counsels for the petitioners contended that online classes are allowed in all other states. The ban on online classes has affected millions of children in the state, the petitioners claimed.

One of the counsel said schools invested money after the state government initially allowed online classes. The decision to ban online classes was an overnight decision, the counsel stated.

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The petitioners contended the ban was arbitrary and that the decision was taken without consulting all stakeholders. The state government held that the restriction on online classes for children till class 5 was taken based on a report submitted by NIMHANS.