Karnataka Govt postpones exams for Classes 7 to 9 until March 31

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, March 15, 2020: Due to the coronavirus pandemic the examinations for school students in Classes 7, 8 and 9 in Karnataka will be postponed until after March 31, Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said on Sunday. The revised dates will be announced at a later period.

However the exams for Class 10 and PU (pre-university) students will continue as per schedule.

This comes as the state is under a partial, week-long lockdown in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), since Saturday, March 14. All schools and other educational institutions were already closed as part of the same directive, with the exception for holding exams.

The department said that dates of examinations will be fixed by keeping an eye on the coronavirus situation in Karnataka, and after the situation comes under control.

In an order passed on Friday, all malls, theatres, pubs and exhibitions across Karnataka are to be shut. All conferences and other large scale gatherings have also been told to be postponed. In the wake of this shutdown, the government has further ordered anganwadis to deliver food supplies to children to their homes. The police have been asked to consult with the Health Department prior to granting permission for any gathering.

TIll date, there are six positive cases of coronavirus in Karnataka. Out of them, one person, a 78-year-old man from Kalaburagi, succumbed to the diseases. The five others are being treated in Bengaluru since they tested positive, and are in a good condition.

Out of the five, three are techies working with Google, Mindtree and Dell. The other two are the wife and daughter of the professional working at Dell.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has also said that this partial shutdown will be reviewed at the end of the week.

The state government has also passed a a strict advisory to Information Technology (IT) companies asking them to implement work from home policy after they were given an advisory to do the same.

Already, many multinational companies have started to ask their employees to work from home. Companies have been told to not allow employees to travel abroad.

Similar lockdowns have been ordered by the Delhi state government and neighbouring Telangana government.