Not planning resumption of schools in near future: Karnataka govt assures parents

The Karnataka government on Tuesday sought to assure parents of students that it was not in a hurry to reopen schools in the state and said there was no need for them to panic. The government said it was not mulling resumption of schools in the near future.

Addressing reporters here, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar said, "Let there be no panic. The state government has not yet taken a call on reopening the schools. There is no thought on starting them in the near future." The minister's statement comes as the reports emerged that he was seeking the opinion of other ministers and MLAs about reopening schools, which are not conducting regular classes due to coronavirus scare since the lockdown was clamped in the state.

Most of the schools barring the state-run are holding online classes through video conferences. A section of private school teachers have appealed to the government to resume classes as they were rendered jobless after the closure of schools. The minister clarified that he will seek the opinion of the academicians and parents on October 5.

"After getting everyone's views, we will take a decision. We are not rushing, there is no hurry. Keeping the future of our children and the concerns of their parents in mind, we will move forward," the minister said. There should not be any room for confusion as the government was not mulling reopening schools in the near future. The Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) or the 10th examination was conducted successfully without any hassle from June 25 to July 4 amid coronavirus scare. The government has already issued an order that the teachers handling classes for grade nine, 10, 11 and 12 should be present in the school from September 21 onwards. The arrangement is not to run regular classes but to clarify the doubts of the students if they wish to approach them directly.