Karnataka: Panel to submit report on online classes soon

BENGALURU: The committee on technology-enabled education, formed to study the issue of online classes, has completed deliberations and is likely to submit a report by Monday, the government informed the Karnataka high court on Friday.
Advocate general Prabhuling K Navadgi submitted that the government would consider the committee’s recommendations and take a decision on online classes. In the meantime, the interim arrangement, mentioned in a notification on June 27, will continue, he added.
The government had halted online classes for students of pre-nursery to class five on June 10.Later, it also banned videos of recorded lessons after initially allowing them. After a nudge by the court, which is hearing a bunch of petitions against the ban, the government on June 27 allowed educational institutes to hold online sessions for limited hours.
On Friday, petitioners argued against this notification, saying restrictions and riders should be lifted. Senior advocate Uday Holla, representing an educational institution, said that Karnataka, home to Silicon Valley of India, should not impose ban or restrictions on online education. Apart from the central government, Unicef, Unesco and World Bank have endorsed online education.
Holla cited the examples of high court and other courts that are conducting proceedings through videoconferencing, and Kerala and Delhi that have allowed online education. Under the Karnataka Education Act, the state cannot exercise power over schools affiliated to CBSE and CISCE as well as international schools, he contended.
Students in Karnataka could lose an academic year if the pandemic continues till next year and the government doesn’t allow online classes, he added.
Pradeep Nayak, the counsel for 21 parents who have challenged the ban through a PIL, said that the latest government order imposed a wider ban through time restrictions on all classes.
A division bench headed by chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka adjourned the hearing to Monday, indicating that it might consider the appeal for an interim order that day.