Karnataka HC stays part of state govt orders banning conduct of online classes for LKG to Class 10

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday (8 July) stayed the state government’s orders dated 15 June and 27 June imposing a ban on conducting online classes for school students from LKG to Class 10. According to Bar and Bench, the interim order was passed in a batch of please challenging the state government’s move to ban online classes in primary schools. A report in NDTV mentions that the Karnataka government had formed a panel to look into how much online time was suitable for young children and said no online classes should be held for grades up to class 5 until the panel gave its findings. The decision faced sharp criticism from parents with several petitioning the High Court challenging the order. According to The New Indian Express, a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Nataraj Rangaswamy passed the interim order of stay. The report says that the bench also made it clear that the interim order should not be construed to make online classes compulsory or charge extra fees for conducting them. The bench added that the state has to take steps to facilitate online education for students residing in rural areas. Nooraine Fazal, CEO, Inventure academy told Times Now and said that they are very happy to note that the Honourable HC has directed the government to ensure children in Government and rural schools benefit from the right.