Karnataka schools to reopen for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade on February 22: Minister
The minister said the government would conduct random testing of students and parents. However, those coming from Kerala would require mandatory Covid-19 negative certificates
Offline classes for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades across Karnataka will commence from February 22, barring Bengaluru and districts bordering Kerala, where offline classes will resume only for students of class eighth due to the continued and greater threat posed by Covid-19, said S Suresh Kumar, minister for primary & secondary education. 2021-22 academic year will commence from July 15 more than a year after offline classes at schools were discontinued after the outbreak of the pandemic, he added.
“There was a demand for reopening schools from all parts (of the state) from students, parents, and guardians and school development and monitoring committees,” Kumar said on Tuesday.
He said students’ physical attendance will be voluntary and not mandatory at schools. The announcement comes in the backdrop of a rising number of Covid-19 cases in Bengaluru and some other parts of the state. Bengaluru for instance has seen two new covid-19 clusters emerge in recent days, increasing the chances of a possible second wave of the pandemic in India’s IT capital.
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A housing complex detected 105 Covid-19 positive cases and a nursing home detected 42 new cases. Kumar said the government would conduct random testing of students and parents. However, those coming from Kerala would require mandatory Covid-19 negative certificates, he said.
The decision to reopen physical classes for students from grades one to five will be taken after a meeting with expert committees, Kumar added.
Classes for students above 10th grade were reopened in January followed by reopening of schools for the students of ninth grade.