Bengaluru, Nov 23 (IANS): With winter setting in and discouraging attendance in colleges, Karnataka is not likely to reopen schools in the state till winter. With this, it is almost certain that the schools might be reopened only in 2021.

A senior education department official told IANS that even the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) headed by Dr M. K. Sudharshan too has recommended the same.

The TAC is formed by the Karnataka Health and Family welfare ministry to advise the government on various aspects related to the pandemic.

The schools are closed due to the pandemic for more than eight months and most of the school students were depending on the on-line classes.

"The TAC held a meeting on Sunday and arrived at a unanimous conclusion that it would not be advisable for the state government to reopen schools at this juncture, when winter is setting in," he said.

The officer further added that the TAC had met on October 8 and in November prior to this meeting on Sunday and even in these meetings too the TAC had suggested the state government to not to reopen schools citing winter as its main concern.

The TAC also deliberated on Sero survey that was conducted in the month of September, that had indicated that winter could prove to be a big challenge for the state in containing the spread of the Covid-19.

The TAC lauded the state's efforts in containing the Covid -19, and achieving considerable progress in terms of reducing casualties that have come down to 20 from 100 deaths average even as the number of positive cases have come down to 1800+ from 10000+ just two months ago.

"We need to maintain this momentum in order to contain the spread of the pandemic," the TAC stated in its report submitted to the government last night (Sunday).

The TAC also pointed out that with the harsh winter setting in states like Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan, number of respiratory related cases may see rise in Karnataka too. ".....so it would be appropriate for the state not to reopen schools during entire winter season," the TAC stated and added that the TAC would review the situation in December whether to reopen schools or not.