BENGALURU: The State government on Friday informed the Karnataka High Court that the Expert Committee On Technology Enabled Education would submit its report on Monday. Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadgi made the submission when a division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Nataraj Rangaswamy was hearing a batch of petitions questioning the ban on online classes.
Navadgi submitted that after an initial ban, the state had placed on record that an interim arrangement permitted online classes based on guidelines issued by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, until the expert panel submitted its report. The state would take a decision after the committee submits its report on Monday, he said.
Arguing on behalf of the petitioners— CBSE and ICSE schools—senior advocate Uday Holla said the ban on online classes was effected under the Education Act, which is not applicable to international schools, and that the government does not have the power to ban online classes conducted by CBSE and ICSE schools. Holla said there was no restriction even in the Centre’s guidelines on online classes. Representing the parents, advocate Pradeep Nayak said the state did not have the power to prevent private unaided schools from holding classes online.