Colleges in Karnataka all set to resume their classes after seven months

Colleges in Karnataka are gearing up to resume the regular classes following government directions to reopen degrees, engineering and diploma colleges from Tuesday.

The schools and colleges are shut since March in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the primary and secondary education department is yet to take a call on whether to open the schools and pre-university colleges, the higher education department has decided to open the colleges from 17 November.

The medical, dental, paramedical, nursing colleges and AYUSH colleges will reopen from 1st December.

Many government and government-aided degree colleges have started the preparations by sanitizing the classrooms by spraying disinfectants and setting up the hand sanitizers at the entrance of the college and classrooms.

The government said there is an option for the students to either physically present in the classroom or attend the online classes.

However, the teachers, staff, and students will have to produce a negative RT-PCR test report. Students will also have to submit a no-objection certificate by their parents, permitting their wards to attend the regular classes.

Ahead of the opening of colleges, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr C.N. Ashwath Narayan who holds the higher education portfolio told reporters that the new guidelines have been given to the colleges in view of the coronavirus scare.

He said the government is also keenly monitoring the measures taken by the colleges.

According to him, each college has to set up a task force consisting of teachers, staff and students to ensure that the regulations are strictly adhered to.

A senior official in the Education Department said the education was badly hampered due to the lockdown for eight months.

Students had the problem of grasping through online education for various reasons such as affordability of smartphones, health issues arising out of continuous staring at the screens and internet connectivity.