Temple priest arrested for stealing ornaments offered by devotees

Bengaluru, Jul 8: The expert committee constituted by the Karnataka government to look into imparting online education in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown submitted its report on Tuesday to the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, S Suresh Kumar.

Amid growing pressure by educational institutions to allow them to run online classes for the students, the government set up the committee headed by noted educationist M K Sridhar.

The Minister told reporters that some schools wanted to run online classes, including for LKG and UKG students. It had also come to the government's notice that schools were reportedly charging hefty fees in the name of online teaching, he added.

"To address the concerns of parents, schools, and the future of the children, the committee was formed,"Kumar said. He further said that the government would study the recommendations and hold discussions with officials and various stakeholders before arriving at a decision.

The Education Department said that the committee, in its report, titled "Continuation of Learning in School Education of Karnataka: Guidelines During COVID-19 Pandemic for Technology Enabled Education and Beyond", has recommended teaching online or by using printed material. The committee suggested that children in the age group of three to six be taught online by way of story-telling, rhymes and games strictly in the presence of parents thrice a week just for one session a day For students from class one to three, it advised two periods a day and three days a week for online teaching.

Students from class three to five would have classes five days a week and two classes for 30 minutes a day. For students from class six to eight, there could be three classes a day for a duration of 30 minutes to 45 minutes each, while for students of class nine and 10 there would be four sessions a day between 30 and 45 minutes each.

The committee also suggested usage of Doordarshan and Akashwani for the government school children. Suresh Kumar said there were a few petitions filed in the Karnataka High Court regarding online teaching to the children.

Mumbai, Feb 3: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has accused the BJP-led central government of siding with Karnataka in the Supreme Court over the Belgaum border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra.

"I am committed toward a unified Maharashtra... Whatever is happening in Belgaum is shocking. I will meet the committee looking after this matter. The central government is a guardian of all states and is expected to be unbiased towards all states, but it is shocking that Centre is taking sides with Karnataka in Supreme Court for last the five years. This is really shocking," Thackeray said in an interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana.

On December 7 last year, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had chaired a high-level meeting over the border dispute between the two states.

It was decided in the meeting that attempts will be made to get fast track hearing on the border issue in the Supreme Court.

Earlier on January 19, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had said that Belgaum border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra is a long-pending dispute but can be resolved if Union Home Minister wants.

"If Home Ministry can resolve Kashmir issue and abrogate Article 370 then I think this border issue can be resolved too if Amit Shah wants. The matter comes under the Home Ministry. It is a long-pending issue. He should pay attention to this too," he said while speaking to ANI in Belagavi.

Riyadh, June 24: Thousands of expatriates who managed to return to their home countries from Saudi Arabia during covid-19 lockdown are now in a dilemma as the Kingdom has clarified that it will not allow their re-entry till the end of the corona crisis. 

The Directorate General of Passports (Jawazat) announced on Tuesday that the mechanism to resume extension of the exit and re-entry visas for expatriates who are outside the Kingdom will be announced only after the end of the pandemic crisis.

The Jawazat stated this on its Twitter account while responding to queries from a number of expatriates who are currently outside the Kingdom and whose exit and re-entry visas have expired.

They inquired about the possibility of returning to the Kingdom after the resumption of international flight service. 

The Jawazat reiterated that the return of expatriates who left Saudi Arabia will be only after the end of the pandemic and in accordance with the process to obtain a valid re-entry visa.

The directorate said that in the event of any new decisions or instructions in this regard, they will be announced through the official channels.

It is noteworthy that the Jawazat had previously confirmed that its electronic services are continuing through the Absher and Muqeem online portals of the Ministry of Interior and that the service for messages and requests is still available and continuing through Absher for all the beneficiaries of its services.