Karnataka HC stays govt order banning online classes for children from LKG to class 5

The High Court in Karnataka on Wednesday, July 8, decided to stay the orders passed by the state government a few days back on imposing a ban on online live classes for students from LKG till Class 5 and putting restrictions on online education for students of Class 6 to 10.

A division bench, including Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Nataraj Rangaswamy, passed the interim order of stay after hearing a batch of petitions filed by parents and CBSE and ICSE schools.

The bench directed that schools cannot make online education compulsory and cannot charge extra fees for online classes. "Our order should not be construed to mean that students who do not opt for online education should be deprived of their normal education as and when the schools are able to start education," Chief Justice of Karnataka HC Abhay Sreenivas Oka said.

Create facilities for students in rural areas

The bench also informed that state has to take steps to create facilities for students in rural areas.

The petitioners had challenged the order passed by the Karnataka government on June 15 to ban online classes for students of LKG to Class 5.

They also challenged another order passed by the state government on June 27 to impose restrictions on conducting online classes for students of Class 6 to 10.

The state government had earlier said there has been pressure on it to act, as parents have been complaining about online classes conducted by private schools even for kindergarten children.