There is no thought on reopening schools in near future: Karnataka Education Minister

The state government has not yet taken a call on reopening the schools. There is no thought of starting them in the near future, the Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary Education said. 

The Karnataka Government sought to assure parents that it is not in any hurry to reopen the schools in the state and there is no need to panic. The government said that it is not mulling resumption of schools in near future. While addressing the reporters, 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 has appealed to the government to resume classes as they were rendered jobless after the closure of schools.

The minister further clarified that he will seek the opinion of the academicians and parents on October 5.

"After getting everyone's views, we will make 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 Ministry of Health Affairs, released the Unlock 4 guidelines, as per which it allowed states to reopen the schools for students studying in Classes 9 to 12 who are residing in the non-containment zones, on submission of written consent from parents from September 21 onwards. The government also gave liberty to the state government to decide whether they want to open the schools or not depending on the coronavirus situation in the state. 

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