Amid rising concern of the parents, who are resisting opening of schools during the Covid crisis, the Karnataka government has decided to take all stakeholders into confidence. Primary and secondary education minister S. Suresh Kumar, on Tuesday, directed all the schools in Karnataka to hold consultations with all stakeholders, especially parents, to help evolve a strategy to reopen the schools after the Covid-19 lockdown.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its latest guidelines (dated May 30) for Covid management had stated that the schools, colleges, educational, training and coaching classes would be opened only after due consultation with the states and Union Territories. The guidelines suggested that the states must hold consultations at the institutional level, before the MHA takes a decision in July, regarding reopening of educational institutions in a phased manner, based on the feedback given by parents and other stakeholders.
Accordingly, the state education minister has issued a direction to the heads or managements of all the government, aided and unaided (private) primary, middle and high schools to hold consultation meetings with the parents and school development and management committee (SDMC) members, between June 10 and June 12.
"The meetings must focus on garnering suggestions and opinions on the possible date by which the schools can be reopened and should also discuss the safety precautions and the best ways to implement the social distancing norms," said Suresh Kumar, who also appealed to the parents to attend these meetings and give their opinions to help the state government make the decision.
