Karnataka ministers suggest extending ban on online classes till class 7
bengaluru: a day after the karnataka government banned online classes for students till class 5, several ministers in the state cabinet on thursday suggested that it be extended up to class 7. "karnataka govt has decided to stop all online classes for lkg, ukg & classes up to 5th std. to extend this up to 7th std is only a suggestion from few cabinet ministers as expressed in an informal discussion and not a decision," primary and secondary education minister suresh kumar tweeted. the minister's tweet came as a clarification for the law and parliamentary affairs minister j c madhuswamy's statement earlier during the cabinet briefing that the government has decided to extend the ban on conducting online classes for children up to class 7. amid complaints about conduct of virtual classes, the primary and secondary education department on wednesday had said, online classes for lkg, ukg and primary classes up to fifth standard should be stopped immediately. also, collecting fees in the name of online classes should be stopped immediately, it said. there has been pressure on the government to act as parents have been complaining about online classes conducted by private schools even for kindergarten students. meanwhile, leader of opposition siddaramaiah has suggested that ban on conducting online classes should be extended upto puc (class 11 and 12) level. with no clarity over the reopening of schools, the education department has also constituted a committee under the leadership of prof m k sridhar to prepare guidelines on how to engage students and increase their knowledge. reiterating the government stand, madhuswamy after the cabinet meeting said "we will have sslc (class 10) exams on date." the sslc exams are scheduled from june 25 to july 4. debate has been raging in the state about conducting class 10 exam amid covid-19 situation, after neighbouring tamil nadu and telangana decided to cancel exams and promote students.