Kerala HC refuses to stay online classes in state
Jun 05, 2020
Kochi (Kerala) [India], June 5 : Kerala High Court has refused to stay online classes being conducted by schools in the state in view of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
A parent had approached the High Court seeking directions to the state government and Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) to stop online classes till all students in the state are provided with the technological facilities to attend such classes.
A single-judge bench of Justice CS Dias after recording the submission observed that it does not find any exigency to grant an interim order at this stage.
In her petition, CC Girija, contended that children, especially from the remote areas and those belonging to ST/SC and economically backward communities, are being discriminated against as they have been not provided with the facilities to access the virtual classes.
Therefore, these should not be continued untill all students are provided with the facilities, she submitted before the court.
Kerala government, on the other hand, submitted that all the necessary facilities would be provided to students before commencing regular online classes, which the government hopes to commence by June 14, 2020.
It said that the online mode is introduced only to ensure that students do not miss out on classes, as regular classes cannot be commenced due to pandemic.
Also, the online classes are in a downloadable format, which can be compiled together and shown to students who have missed out on classes, the state submitted.
