An expert committee constituted by the Karnataka government on online classes has recommended live and pre-recorded classes for children aged three and above, an official said on Wednesday.

"The panel recommended that parents must accompany children in online classes up to second standard," said the official. Screen time for children in the 3-6 age group should be restricted to half an hour and three days a week. However, in the case of students above sixth standard, the panel recommended 15 minutes more of online classes.

Two days in a week should be devoted to online classes without any screen time. Recommendations for students in high school between 6-8 classes include 30-45 minute online class per session and three sessions a day and five days a week. Presence of parents is optional but the panel advised interactive classes. Similarly, for children in 9th and 10th standards, four sessions of 30-45 minute classes are recommended per day and five days a week.

For the 2020-21 academic year, the expert committee has recommended an open book type assessment by allowing students to sit in the examinations from their comfort zones. Meanwhile, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar said the government will evaluate the expert panel report and prepare guidelines for online education accordingly.

Amulya, a fifth standard student of Harvest International School at Kodathi in Bengaluru, told IANS that she is attending two online classes on alternate days. "I attend the first online class from 9 am till 9.45 am and second from 10 am to 10.45 am," said Amulya. She said the assignments given by her school are done on a sheet of paper and its pictures transmitted on Google Classroom app to her teacher.

Like many others, the student's parents had asked for online classes when the state government did a survey for their feedback some weeks ago. However, Amulya said she enjoyed real-world classroom lessons more than the online classes.