The Karnataka government on Saturday decided to reopen schools and Pre-University Colleges that were shut due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, for class 10 and second year PUC (class 12) students from January 1. It also decided to start the Vidyagama programme, which enables continued schooling for students from classes six to nine.
The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on reopening schools and PU colleges in the state. He said the advice given by the state's Technical Advisory Committee for COVID-19 on reopening of schools was discussed in detail for about an hour. They suggested starting classes 10 and 12 (second PUC) from January 1 and for imparting education for students from classes six to nine through the Vidyagama programme, he said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said "Everyone unanimously agreed to it.so it has been agreed to start classes 10 and 12 from January 1 and Vidyagama for classes six to nine students. In a tweet informing about the same, the Chief Minister added that a decision on reopening schools for students of other classes would be taken after reviewing the situation for 15 days. Both classes 10 and second PUC are crucial as students will have to face board exams.
The schools and PU colleges have remained closed since March just ahead of the national lockdown was first enforced to combat COVID-19. Degree and engineering colleges in the state were reopened on November 17. As of December 18, Karnataka had reported 9,07,123 COVID-19 infections, while the toll stood at 11,989.
