Anticipating a withdrawal of offline classes across Karnataka, rural private schools in the state have sought alternatives to online classes, including Vidyagama, from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Instead of hampering the future of children in the state, the schools recommended a slew of measures that could be adopted to ensure the continuation of education.
One of the alternatives is to segment each class into three and ask one batch each to come to school twice a week. In the event of any student testing COVID-19 positive, that particular batch could be asked to home-quarantine. "In the past two years, schools have been blamed for the spread of COVID. Didn't people, who gathered at liquor shops, tours, hotels, and trains — all revenue providers for the government — come in contact with their children?" questioned Lokesh Talikatte, State Unit President of Recognised Unaided Private Schools Association (RUPSA), Karnataka.
Schools asked for a more local approach in dealing with the new wave of the pandemic. Other ideas they gave the state involved providing holidays to schools where COVID spread was on the rise and also coming up with micro-containment zones.
Students residing in Bengaluru's slums are facing malnutrition. They should be given midday meals at the schools, they felt. By such alternative measures, they believe children would be spared from being left out of education and they requested that these issues be discussed by the cabinet.
Meanwhile, there is also a fear of going back to online classes, although there are no government directions for the same yet. At present, classes have been imparted online or through alternative modes for students at all Bengaluru schools and colleges, barring those studying in Classes X-XII and medical and paramedical students from January 6-19 or till further orders.
