Schools for Class 8 to Class 10 finally open up in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district

After months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka reopened on Friday for 8-10th standard students.

A fair number of students attended the first day's physical classes, said sources in the Education Department. Some schools had 60 per cent attendance while few had more than 80 per cent attendance, whereas few schools have decided to open only from September 20, which is when the classes for the sixth and seventh standards would begin on September 20.

As per the instructions from the district administration, schools have to arrange proper sanitation and basic facilities. Offline classes for students from Class 6 to Class 10 will be divided between morning and afternoon sessions to avoid the crowd at schools. Lectures for Class 9 and Class 10 will be held in the morning till 1:30 pm and Class 8 students will have classes in the afternoon till 4:30 pm.

The authorities have also asked schools in the district to arrange for the accommodation of students arriving from neighbouring Kerala. The administration has also asked the staff and teachers to attend schools with RT-PCR test negative reports. 

Even as schools across the state reopened last month, schools were shut in Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan districts where the COVID positivity rate was above or close to 2 per cent.