Reduce syllabi, strict social distancing norms: Here's how Karnataka is prepping to reopen its schools

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, one cannot predict when the schools will reopen, says Suresh Kumar S, Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Government of Karnataka. In that scenario, the government has decided to ease the school curriculum and reduce the syllabi for the next academic year.

"After having this long break, we are not sure about the availability of the number of classes in schools and how quickly, our teachers can complete the syllabus in the next academic year," said the minister. "Recently, the education ministers of all the states had a video meeting with the MHRD and it suggested that if there is a delay of 15 days or more in reopening schools, the Education Department must work around the idea of chopping down syllabus for the next academic year. This will help us reduce their burden and stress," he adds/

Soon after the meeting, the minister directed the DSERT and the Karnataka Textbook Society to discuss the syllabus reduction. Apart from this, the education department is planning to create awareness about COVID-19 by creating booklets in Kannada and English and distribute them among students of grades VI to X. "Our teachers will communicate with these students and tell them more about how the Coronavirus spreads and what they need to do in schools. This booklet will include information about the situation in other countries as well as India," adds Kumar.

The Education Department's new programme called Makkala Vani is being broadcasted on YouTube and many people have been appreciating it. From the next year, they are launching recorded classes for school students through their YouTube channel. "We want experienced teachers to record a video of all the chapters and post it on our YouTube channel so that students can refer to these videos whenever they want to clear their doubts. We have also appealed some experienced teachers  who have won awards and are retired to teach our students through this platform," he says. 

The minister also spoke about how the schools will maintain social distancing. "We are planning to make two different shifts for all the schools to maintain social distancing because we don't want to fill our classes with students at once. This will only increase the chances of spreading this disease. We only aim to make schools and colleges safe spaces for students," he says.