BENGALURU : Schools violating the guidelines set by the State government’s Expert Committee on Online Education will lose their recognition and face fines. The committee, which has set the time limit for online classes, has stated that the screentime for students from pre-primary to Grade 5 should be 30 minutes per session and for grades 6-10 it should be 45 minutes.
Pre-primary students (3-6 years) are allowed three days of classes per week with one session per day and those in grade one and two can have classes three days a week with two sessions per day. For grades 3-5, five days of classes are allowed per week with two sessions per day, for grades 6-8, five days of classes with three classes per day and for grades 9 and 10, five days of classes with four sessions per day.
The order was made public on Wednesday after the state government received reports that some schools were holding online classes for prolonged hours, affecting the health, especially the eyesight, of young students. The State government had on October 21 ordered that schools should comply with the recommendations made by the expert committee on screen time.
“Under no circumstances, classes can be extended beyond the recommended time. In case of violations, action will be taken against schools as per the Karnataka Education Act 1983 Section 124 (A),” it said.
A senior official from the Education Department told The New Indian Express that schools violating the order will lose their recognition and also face fines.