Schools reopening decision in Karnataka will be taken after assessing outcome of colleges reopening: Karnataka Govt

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayana has announced that the decision to reopen schools in the state will depend on the outcomes of the reopening of colleges in the state. The state government will first measure the success rate of reopening colleges.

The postgraduate and degree colleges of Karnataka have been reopened after eight months of closure from November 17 with several health and safety measures set into place in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

According to several media reports, the deputy CM said, “Reopening of degree and postgraduate classes will allow us to study the pros and cons of colleges. Only then we can think of reopening schools.”

He also said that the state government of Karnataka will have to prepare a list of precautionary measures and standard operating procedures (SOPs) before reopening the schools and preschools in



the state in the middle of a pandemic.

The education minister of Karnataka, S Suresh Kumar, had also stated earlier that the schools in the state will only be reopened after a meeting is held with all the concerned stakeholders such as experts, health officials, and other respective departments.

A meeting with the parents and students association was also conducted by the state government last week, seeking their advice on the reopening of schools in the state. It was suggested in the meeting that the schools and pre-universities be reopened from December 15.

Karnataka colleges had reopened from November 17 with meager attendance across the state on the first day. Almost all campuses across the state were deserted and classrooms saw only a handful of students in attendance on Tuesday when degree, diploma, and engineering colleges re-opened after a gap of eight months.