Bengaluru: Laying all speculations to rest, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has ruled out re-opening of Schools and said the State Government has not taken any decision in this regard in the wake of spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

His reaction came after parents and students opposed tooth and nail the re-opening of Schools from Oct. 16.

Yediyurappa said, “I have observed in media about pro and anti-discussion over re-opening of Schools. Even leaders of political parties have taken objection over it. In view of this, our Government has decided to convene a meeting of political leaders, academicians and senior officials to discuss about pros and cons and then take a decision. Till then, there is no question of re-opening of Schools.”

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddharamaiah in three-page letter to the CM and Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar has advised them to declare all students pass and promote them to next classes. 

The situation is quite grim in the State with no signs of decline in Corona positive cases in ten districts. The Government must not play with lives of lakhs of School children. It would be a disaster if Schools were re-opened without allowing the situation to become normal, he added.

Former CM and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy too opposed re-opening of Schools and advised the Government to continue online classes till indefinite period. Parents will not spare the Government if something happened to their children. When adults do not adhere to safety norms, how could they expect the kids to wear face masks, he asked.

‘Vidyagama’ Scheme safe

Refuting media reports that ‘Vidyagama’ Scheme has been responsible for four students to test Corona positive at Maashal village in Afzalpur taluk of Kalaburagi district, Minister Suresh Kumar regretted of projecting the Scheme as big failure.

Reacting to media campaign, he said the idea of the Scheme was to continue teaching students by taking safety measures following closure of all Schools and Colleges since March. It was the wish of Government to bring every child under the ambit of learning. The programme had been started with the involvement of parents, teachers, SDMC, Schools Management, community members and volunteers to ensure that no kid was left out of learning.

He said teachers had been trained on involvement of students in learning activities and as many as 49.34 lakh students were being taught by over two lakh teachers. There is no report from anywhere to prove that teachers contracted Coronavirus for participating in ‘Vidyagama’ programme, he added. “We are not in a hurry to re-open Schools. Children’s safety is our motto. No prestige involved in re-opening of Schools at the cost of students’ lives,” he clarified.