The professional and degree colleges in Karnataka are going to reopen from 1 October, for the first time since the outbreak of coronavirus in March.

However, the government has said that it will wait for central government's guidelines before it takes a final decision, The Times of India reported.

State's Deputy Chief Minister (DyCM) C N Ashwath Narayan on Wednesday (26 August) said, "The 2020-21 academic year for degree colleges will commence on September 1 with online classes. On October 1, we plan to reopen the doors of colleges for classes."

The Dy CM said the government had been preparing to resume classes in colleges on the lines of guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission and the final call would be taken after centre's instructions. "The state government will follow additional directions from the central government to ensure safety of students," he added.

However, no date has yet been finalised to reopen schools in the state that has seen a rapid growth of Covid-19 cases for last few weeks.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh said the state government would plan on resuming schools classes after centre releases its guidelines.

Narayan, who also holds the charge of higher education department, said examinations for final-year undergraduate, diploma and engineering students would soon be scheduled.

"Once the academic year begins, final-year exams, along with backlog exams, will be conducted," Narayan said.