Karnataka bans online live classes for school kids

New Delhi: Karnataka government on Wednesday (June 10) decided to ban online live classes for students from LKG till class 5 in all the primary schools in the state. 

Karnataka Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said the state government has formed a committee to submit recommendations on the pros and cons of online education for classes 6-10. The committee will submit a report in 10 days, he added.

The committee, headed by Professor MK Sridhar comprises education experts VP Niranjanaradhya and John Vijay Sagar as members.

The minister told media persons in Bengaluru, "We have banned online classes for children in primary schools in the state as recommended by Nimhans director in a report, which said it should be conducted for kids only above 6 years of age." 

The decision was taken following complaints to the Primary and Secondary Education Department by several parents that private schools were allegedly conducting online classes even for kindergarten children.

All private schools have also been directed to refrain from increasing any type of fee for the 2020-21 academic year as parents and guardians were reeling under financial burden due to the coronavirus fallout.

The department has already advised both government and private schools across the state not to reopen after summer till further orders due to the extended lockdown guidelines to prevent the Covid-19 spread.