The department of public instruction has announced the commencement of in-person classes for LKG and UKG in government, aided and private schools starting November 8.

Classes for this age group will be held only for half a day period between 9.30 am and 3.30 pm between Monday and Friday. In-person classes are allowed only in those districts with a Covid-19 positivity rate of less than 2 %.

Schools have been instructed to clean their campus with 1 % sodium hypochlorite solution before commencement of on-campus classes for students.

Similar to the mandate issued for the higher classes, students must carry a letter of consent from parents to attend offline classes. For the schools, it has been made non-negotiable that all staff must be fully vaccinated.

Students are mandated to bring food and drinking water from home. If any child is found symptomatic, such students must be seated in the designated isolation room and parents must be informed. If any child is tested positive in a school, it would be mandatory for all other students to undergo the Covid-19 test as well.

The Karnataka government had previously announced the reopening of in-person classes in a phased manner for students of all grades.  

On October 25, in-person classes commenced in all government, aided and private schools in Karnataka after 19 months of closure A government order issued on October 21, allowed the commencement of in-person classes for students between classes 1 and 5 – for half a day between October 25 and 30 and the entire day post November 2. Previously, the state had passed an order allowing reopening of in-campus classes for students between classes 9 and 12 on August 23 and class 6 onwards from September 6 (full day classes commenced from October 4). 

Also read: Karnataka: Lukewarm response to in-person classes in schools