‘Why should schools, colleges be shut?’

Kumaran P | NT

Bengaluru: Dismissing the concerns of parents and teachers over the spike in Covid cases in Karnataka and the Omicron variant threat, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education BC Nagesh told News Trail that there was no question of closing schools where offline classes are being conducted for now.

The minister expressed his displeasure over the fact that Covid Appropriate Behavior (CAB) was not being followed by children in schools. “There is no reason why we should stop kids from coming to schools. We have a student population of more than a crore and we have only 140 students who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state. All these infected children are doing well and are not serious. For this reason, do you think we should close all schools?”

“We will run the schools and take all precautionary measures. Schools have been strictly informed to implement complete CAB in their premises. Nor should we exert pressure on schools to shut down,” he said.

Several school managements also batted for offline classes and asked the state government to provide better alternative plans, full-fledged technology and internet facilities to all children. Many international schools in the city have adopted the hybrid model of teaching in which teachers teach from real classrooms while some students sit in the classroom and the rest attend classes via the online mode.

D Shashi Kumar, secretary of Karnataka Associated Private School managements (KAMS) said, “The education minister clarifying that schools will not be closed is a healthy development. Children will continue learning which has already been severely hit in the last 20 months. The government has to come-up with a new SOP to avoid the crowding of people at bus stops, malls, playgrounds and restaurants. There are many kids who gather at these places soon after school and college hours and do not follow Covid appropriate measures. Also parents should give strict advice to students to maintain CAB in public places.”

“Usually during the afternoon or evening hours when I pass by many top schools in the Central Business District (CBD) in the city, I see many students not wearing masks. They roam around crowded places, they are at bakeries and hotels and do not comply with the Covid protocol. How much more can we do to teach our kids to behave in Covid times? Online classes are no doubt tough to handle but we have to prioritise keeping safety concerns in mind,” said Shiva Kumar, a businessman on MG Road.