Bengaluru (Karnataka): After a long gap of eight months, several colleges in Karnataka opened on Tuesday with strict COVID guidelines.
Under the guidelines issued by the state government for reopening of colleges, students and teachers were required to provide a COVID negative test report. In some colleges, however, the administration itself was conducting COVID tests in the college premises.
Ahead of the reopening, many government and government-aided degree colleges started preparations by sanitising the classrooms with the spraying of disinfectants and setting up hand sanitisers at the entrance of the college and classrooms.
However, many colleges in the state did not re-open today despite the government announcement. Many colleges in the state, including the National College of Bengaluru, are yet to re-open.
In Bengaluru, most of the students reportedly chose not to turn up on the first day.
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Meanwhile, a government degree college in Raichur re-opened today, with a class being held for the solitary student who turned up. "Some more time is needed to get the students to college. Today only one student came, but within 3-4 days, college will be filled with students," college principal Mallanagowda said.
In North Karnataka, many colleges were opened, but students were missing. Most of the colleges in Vijayapura, Raichur, and Belagavi were re-opened, but the classrooms were empty.
Across the state, there were mixed opinions about the re-opening of colleges, both by parents and students. While some were happy that normal education has finally resumed, others expressed apprehensions about students' safety.
