Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Higher Education Minister and Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan said the state’s decision to reopen colleges was driven by the need to provide a competitive environment to students.
Karnataka is the first state in the country to announce the reopening of colleges. The state had Wednesday announced that while the 2020-21 academic session for pre-university and degree colleges will begin online from 1 September, regular classes will commence from 1 October.
Speaking to ThePrint, Narayan said, “We have to learn to live with the virus. We need to start the academic year. We may also consider a no-holiday academic year to ensure that the syllabi is completed.”
Karnataka has already taken the lead in this aspect, having conducted the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exam in June and the Common Entrance Test (CET), for admission to professional engineering and medical colleges, in July.
The minister said sticking with online classes would make the courses akin to “distance education” and would not be “fair to students who are competitive”.
“Students will have projects, practical classes. They need to interact with each other, generate ideas and learn from each others’ personality. How long will you have online classes?” Narayan asked.
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‘Safety protocols will be in place’
Narayan, a medical doctor, also emphasised that safety protocols will be maintained, staggered classes will be held and colleges will be sensitised on Covid-19 regulations.
“Students will have to wear masks. Sanitising the premises every few hours will be compulsory,” he said. “Colleges will have to ensure that they keep a close watch on students who may show signs of fever or cold. They should be shifted to the nearest testing centre. The onus is on the colleges to implement safety measures.”
On how the government plans to conduct online classes, the minister said the state government is waiting for guidelines from the central government.
“We have chalked out a comprehensive plan to start offline classes in line with the guidelines set by UGC,” he said. “Once we get instructions from the Centre (on online classes), we will implement that as well.”
Final-year exams
Another major decision that has been taken by the higher education department is to conduct the final-year and backlog examinations for all undergraduate, diploma and engineering students starting September.
The Supreme Court Friday made it clear that states will have to conduct the final years exams as mandated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Narayan said that the state government does fear any backlash. “It is unfair for those students who have been preparing for these examinations since Grade 10,” he said. “It is their future and we will ensure all things take place smoothly. Didn’t we conduct the tenth and twelfth examinations without hurdles? This should be no problem.”
With protests going on against the government’s decision to conduct the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) offline, Narayan said those opposing this have “vested interests”.
NEET is scheduled to be held on 13 September, while JEE Mains is to take place between 1 and 6 September.
“Just like all the other examinations conducted until now, the state will coordinate with the Centre for conducting NEET successfully,” he told ThePrint.
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Students, colleges prepared to resume session
Karnataka has close to 15 lakh students pursuing undergraduate courses and nearly 4 lakh students attending post graduate courses, according to educationists in the state.
When ThePrint contacted several associations representing undergraduate and graduate colleges, the general view was that they are prepared to conduct classes. The college managements, however, are awaiting directions from the government on how to go about it.
“The students are prepared to attend classes. It is their parents who are worried for their well-being and are restricting them from attending regular college,” said Dr H. Prakash, president, Karnataka Government Teachers Association.
“You will not believe it, we have started classes for MCom and MSc in government colleges and the response has been overwhelming,” he added.
Prakash said online classes do not compensate for real classroom teaching.
M.K. Panduranga Setty, president of the Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges’ Association (KUPECA), however, said he wasn’t sure if it is the right time to start the academic session.
“The UGC decided to start classes as it believes the pandemic situation may get better by then (October). But if you see media reports, the cases are increasing. If this is the trend, it will be difficult to hold regular classes,” Setty said.
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