Education Minister fumes as private schools reopen Classes 1-5 sans govt order

BENGALURU: Following complaints of private schools reopening offline classes for lower primary students, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar has asked all deputy directors of public instruction to take necessary action. “No one has the liberty to circumvent the government’s order which was passed after much thought for the well being of students,” he said.“At present, only Classes 6 to 12 are allowed to open.

There is still no permission by the health department to resume school for Classes 1 to 5,” the minister said while replying to a public appeal by Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar on Thursday. He sought the intervention of the education minister in taking action. “We have received complaints that private schools have reopened schools for Classes 1 to 6 without the permission of the government,” Sudhakar told Kumar in a tweet.

Meanwhile, a petition has been filed in the Karnataka High Court challenging the government’s response on lower primary students not being allowed to attend school, while students in the higher grades are. Meanwhile, the additional government advocate awaits the expert opinion regarding the reopening of schools from Classes 1 to 5. The next hearing of the case is on March 16.