Bengaluru: The state government has announced that online classes for the new academic year for degree colleges will begin from September 1 and classroom learning will begin from October 1.

The announcement was made on Wednesday, August 26, by Deputy Chief Minister and higher education minister CN Ashwathnarayan.

He informed that students in degree courses will begin attending classes in their colleges from October 1.

The development comes after the Central and state governments have introduced sweeping relaxations in the COVID-19 restrictions.

Stating that the department of higher education was waiting for the Central Government’s guidelines on conducting offline classes and a few degree exams, DCM Ashwathnarayan said that the government has decided to start all academic activities online from next month. “All colleges will also start in October and students must attend classes in person,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, final year exams will be scheduled for diploma and engineering students, he added.