Decision to reopen schools after October 15: Karnataka govt

The state government on Thursday said it will decide on reopening schools in a graded manner after October 15, and that students will be allowed to attend only with the written consent of parents.

In its Unlock 5.0 guidelines, in tune with the one issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the state government said the decision to reopen schools will be taken in consultation with school managements based on their assessment of the situation and will be subject to some conditions.

"Attendance must not be enforced and must depend entirely on parental consent," Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar said in the guidelines.

Various stakeholders, including school managements and elected representatives, have communicated to the government that they are not willing to reopen schools considering the safety of children.

Shivamogga MP B Y Raghavendra and minister for large and medium scale industries Jagdish Shettar said it is not a "good idea" to reopen for the current academic year "considering the spread of the pandemic and safety of children".

The two were responding to the letter written by state primary education minister S Suresh Kumar, who sought suggestions from elected representatives on reopening schools.

Several parents ruled out sending their kids to schools until there is some solution for Covid-19. "Most of the parents have got a work-from-home option till January 30. I feel it is better to continue with online classes until there is some solution for the pandemic," said Shruti Nandan, a parent.

Private school managements are also not keen on regular classes.

D Shashi Kumar, general secretary, associated management of primary and secondary schools in Karnataka, said a "majority of schools are not in a mood to reopen as it will be risky and also expensive for schools".

"What we are thinking is to allow children between class 9 to 12 only for consultation and not for regular classes. In case a few parents demand physical classes, then we have to conduct classes for them and live-stream the same to others who wish to attend online," said Shashi Kumar.