The state had started offline classes for its postgraduate and undergraduate students earlier this month. However, very few students left the safety of their homes to attend college as it is still not fully safe to wander in the city. After observing very low attendance in both degree and postgraduate courses, the Karnataka government seems to have grown unsure regarding its decision to open schools in the state. S. Suresh Kumar, Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister, mentioned that the state had not yet decided to re-open schools.
Furthermore, numerous meetings with parents and other stakeholders in the matter have been held in which it was noted that some favoured reopening of schools while others did not feel the same way. Therefore, S. Suresh Kumar expounded, the state has not taken an official stand on the matter as of yet. Moreover, officials in the education department are anxious and wary of reopening schools and in turn, increasing the risk of young children contracting the coronavirus.
One of the officials pointed out that low attendance rates in colleges imply that parents and guardians are wary of sending fully grown college students to campus and that with that in mind, parents of school-going children would be much more hesitant to send their children off to offline classes. He also went on to explain how he did not sign a consent form for his son, forbidding the latter from attending offline classes. Thus, he is well aware of how difficult it will be to convince parents like him to send their children to schools.
The state government is likely to study the situation for another one or two months before arriving at an official decision.
Read/Add Comments