Karnataka’s deputy chief minister and higher education minister CN Ashwathnarayan announced that in-person classes for degree colleges in the state would resume from October, until which online classes would be held from September 1, when the academic session commences.
In a series of tweets, the minister, who also holds the IT & BT, and skill development portfolios, said, “We have decided to use the online medium to get the ball rolling on all academic activities from next month as we will need to conduct a few degree exams in September.”
Even as he gave a timeline for resumption of classes, Ashwathnarayan, however, cautioned that the state is awaiting detailed guidelines from the Centre regarding the resumption of offline classes and said the state would follow any additional directions that may be issued in this regard.
Asserting that the state government was working with the sole intent of ensuring students’ interests are served, Ashwathnarayan said, “Once the academic year begins, final year exams will be scheduled for all undergraduate, diploma and engineering students. Backlog exams will also be conducted accordingly.”
If the government goes ahead with the plan, the state is likely to be the first in the country to reopen in-person classes and academic coaching. Usually, the academic year for colleges in the state starts in June, which has been delayed this year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
