Students who are mostly from North Karnataka and other districts of the state in this residential English Medium school in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district will remain out of school for a year as management has decided to close it down due to coronavirus pandemic. Shree Brahmananda Saraswati Swami, the seer of Shree Rama Kshetra in Devaragudde and administrator of the Atmananda Saraswathi English Medium speaking to The New Indian Express, said that more than 200 students in their school hail from north Karnataka and their parents are hesitant to send their children.
"Many districts in north Karnataka are badly affected by the coronavirus and even if we open schools in the next few months, we will be putting their lives in danger. Even if one person gets infected by the virus, the entire school will be sealed down. We do not want to endanger little children's lives. Even the World Health Organisation(WHO) has advised protecting the children below the age of 12 from this deadly virus," he said. There are over 350 students who are getting free English medium education along with free food, medicine and taught Yoga.
The school offers free education from Upper KG, Lower KG to SSLC and the students are mostly from Bengaluru, Bhatkal, Hubballi, Bijapur, Raichur, Mysuru, Gulbarga and other parts of the state. The seer further said that there are over 70 local students whose parents too have supported the management's decision to close down the school for a year. "Over 90% of the parents have supported the idea. Once the cases are reduced, we will think of reopening the schools. Most of the parents are not ready to send their children to school but they are too scared to express their feelings. I am ready to provide a transfer certificate if parents want to shift their children to another school. Parents of my students from other districts are hesitating to come down to our school even to collect their marks cards. They are asking us to send it by post. As per my observation, the situation will deteriorate in the next three months and coronavirus is spreading at an alarming rate," he added.
The seer said that he has already informed about the school closure to Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, Department of Public Instruction(DDPI) and education minister Suresh Kumar. Meanwhile, the SSLC students of the school will be appearing for the final examination in their respective districts
