Amid the rising cases of COVID-19, the offline classes in 3 schools in Hubbali came to a halt. The Railway School in Hubbali was closed in the third week of December, after a student and a teacher tested positive for COVID-19. Both had reportedly contracted the new Omicron variant. In addition, the Chetan Public School was the second school to be sealed after 11 students tested positive. Following this, 8 students from St. Antony’s Public School at Hubbali tested positive last week and the school was closed. Classes for the rest of the students are set to continue in the online mode.
The Karnataka government had announced the closure of all schools in Bengaluru last week, with the exception of Class 10 and 12, following an abrupt and exponential rise in the COVID-19 cases across the state. In this regard, weekend curfews and night curfews were also imposed in the capital, Bengaluru.
Infections reported in Engineering Colleges
Additionally, around 20 engineering students from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Bengaluru, tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday and were quarantined in their respective hostels. This comes a day after the Karnataka government permitted the engineering colleges in the state to remain open. The news has further raised concerns among many engineering students and parents.
Initially, the institution had dismissed the news as fake. But the news gained attention after a video of the infected students was posted on Twitter. The tweet claimed that the management had tried to conceal the matter. Moreover, it was claimed that the primary contacts of these infected students were not tested and that the infected students would be quarantined for 11 days, following which they are to attend their internal exams.
Puducherry’s Situation
In Puducherry, offline classes for students from Grades 1 to 9 came to a standstill, after the Home and Education Minister, A Namassivayam announced last week that online classes will continue for these students, until further notice. The Puducherry government had reopened the schools for students from Classes 1 to 9 on December 4, 2021.
With the alarming increase in covid cases, many state governments have now imposed severe restrictions and announced the closure of academic institutions. Recently, the Rajasthan government has decided to close all the schools up to class 8 and coaching institutes in Kota, from January 10 to January 17, 2022. The students will be engaged in online classes, until then.
