Schools and Pre-University (PU) colleges here and in other districts of Karnataka where the COVID test positivity rate is less than two per cent reopened for students of classes 9-12 on Monday after a gap of five months.

Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai likened the reopening to freedom for students from COVID-19.

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“Students are very happy. It’s like, they have got freedom today from COVID-19. August 15 is celebrated as a freedom for the country but for our students from classes ninth, tenth, 11th and 12 it’s real freedom for them with the opening of schools,” Bommai told reporters after visiting a few schools in the city.

He said students were facing a lot of issues in online classes such as communication and network problems but here in the physical classes, they can interact with their teachers better.

Apart from better teaching and understanding, students are happy that they are now with their friends, the Chief Minister said.

Bommai told teachers, staff and students to follow COVID-19 norms.

“There will be a experts’ committee meeting by the month-end. Looking at the situation, we will take a call on two things — one is regarding border districts and second is classes for class first to the eighth standard,” the Chief Minister explained.

At an event here, Bommai said if the reopening of schools become successful, August 23 will be celebrated as Education Day just as September 5 is observed as Teachers’ Day.

He also said that this day is important as it will liberate children from COVID-19.

The government decided to start the classes from Monday on the recommendation of the Technical Advisory Committee on COVID-19.

The TAC had said that the teachers and other staff in the schools and PU colleges should be vaccinated first.

Further, it said the classrooms should be sanitised, social distancing and hand hygiene should be maintained and everyone should wear masks compulsorily.

The Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh visited a few schools in the city and interacted with students.

The government decided not to reopen schools and PU colleges in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru as the COVID-19 positivity rate is above two per cent in these districts, government sources said.

On the directions of the Chief Minister, the district in-charge ministers visited a few schools in their respective districts on Monday.

In November 2020, degree colleges were opened and later in January 2021, 10th and pre-university colleges were opened for a brief period. The experiment could not continue for long as the second wave had hit the country and Karnataka was among the worst affected states reporting over 50,000 cases and about 500 fatalities daily.