May shut colleges if COVID cases spike: Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar

BENGALURU: Just six days after degree and engineering colleges reopened in the state, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Sunday said that they may be shut again if Covid-19 cases rise.

Citing media reports that 120-130 students were infected with the coronavirus, Dr Sudhakar added he would gather further information from senior officials. Colleges were reopened after eight months of closure due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdown.

Reacting to this news, Dr Niranjanaradhya V P – senior fellow and programme head, Universalization of Equitable Quality Education Programme at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru – said the decision is completely unscientific.

“The ministers and government, instead of creating an enabling environment and confidence among children and adults, are pushing them to fear. When testing is carried out, there are possibilities that the students can test positive, but it does not mean they are positive due to reopening of colleges. The government has not clearly planned about how to handle these situations… They need to improve,” Dr Niranjanaradhya said.

However, Dr Sudhakar stated that if cases do go up, they do not have an alternative. He was speaking to reporters in Dharwad and his statement comes ahead of the government’s meeting on Monday to decide on the reopening of schools.

The minister agreed that schools in the state have not yet reopened amid the fear of the coronavirus.

“The youth have immunity, but I would not say that the students won’t contract the disease. We must protect students, as well as shape their academic future. Since we have a big responsibility, we decided to reopen schools and colleges in a phased manner,” he informed.