Putting an end to the confusion over the commencement of the academic year, the state primary and secondary education minister clarified that the classes will begin as per the schedule on May 16.
Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, Minister B C Nagesh said that schools in the state will reopen for 2022-23 as per the schedule. “Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will inaugurate the Kalika Chetarike (Learning Recovery) programme in Tumakuru on that day,” he added.
There was pressure on the government from various people, including some elected representatives to postpone the commencement of the academic year and they were all citing the soaring temperature in some Kalyana Karnataka districts.
“Kalika Chetarike will not be a first few days programme, it will be there for the entire year for kids from grades 1 to 10. The teachers, who have attended the training sessions, are very happy with the concept and module and the attendance during the training was 100%,” he mentioned.
Nagesh said that the government cannot impose the learning recovery programme on private/aided schools, but if they wish to adopt it, the department is ready to train their teachers.
“We cannot impose or insist on aided schools to implement Kalika Chetarike, but if they approach us, we are ready to train their resources,” Nagesh said.
Earlier, the parents’ associations and the private school management associations had urged the government not to make changes in the school reopening schedule.
Considering the learning loss that occurred and the learning gap created due to the Covid-19 pandemic for the last two years, the department has cut short the summer holidays this year by 15 days.
Published 10 May 2022, 16:17 IST