HUBBALLI: A decision on reopening of colleges in the State will be taken only after vaccinating all the stakeholders, including students, said Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, here on Monday.
Still, no discussion is being held at the government level to start offline classes for college students, but the higher education department is taking measures to ensure reopening of colleges soon, including vaccinating teaching and non-teaching staff and students, he added.
Though he did not give a time-frame to restart colleges offline, he said. “Of course, there are several challenges to open colleges. But how long can colleges continue with online classes? Life should continue with caution. The only remedy to get rid of the pandemic is vaccination and the government is taking it up on a massive scale.”
The government is prepared to face a possible Covid third wave by creating health infrastructure. Over 6,000 beds across the State are reserved for Covid patients and necessary medical, nursing and paramedical staff are being recruited, he said.During a discussion on the National Education Policy (NEP) at Karnatak University, Dharwad, he said private institutions can start implementing NEP if they are willing and are prepared with necessary technology and infrastructure.
The State Government aims to implement NEP by 2030 and government institutions under the Department of Higher Education will do it from the current academic year by making use of the learning management system (LMS) and Unified University College Management System (UUCMS), he said.Private colleges that have good infrastructure should embrace NEP from this year itself. Other institutions too should move towards implementing it gradually. NEP aspires to provide global exposure to students even as it tries to make them aware of the roots of Indian tradition, he said.