BENGALURU: Primary and Secondary Education Minister BC Nagesh on Thursday said the department is prepared to conduct regular classes whenever schools are reopened. A final decision will be taken on the advice of experts and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at the next cabinet meeting on January 29, he said.
The minister said that though cases in children had been reported, attendance had not fallen as the cases were mild. He said that the Education Department has proposed to reopen schools from Monday onwards and added that it will be suggested at the next cabinet meeting.
According to sources in the minister’s office, the rule of 75 per cent mandatory attendance is not likely to be enforced for students to take their final exams. The minister had previously told reporters that children will not be forced to attend offline classes as attendance will not be mandatory.
The minister, however, said that students will benefit from the reopening of schools as they had been adversely affected by online classes. “The resumption of regular classes is not only so that students can study for their upcoming exams, but also for their social wellbeing as online classes are not as effective as offline classes,” he said.
“As the number of Covid-19 cases are coming down and the impact of the virus on children is mild, we will suggest opening classes for students of Classes 1 to 9 from Monday,” he said. However, it will be left to the experts to decide, he added.