Karnataka has lost at least 268 teachers to Covid-19 since March 2020 according to statistics provided by the Department of Primary and Secondary Education. High numbers were reported from parts of North Karnataka that went to polls in mid-April this year.

Bengaluru has reported the highest number of deaths of teachers with a tally of over 81 while 70 were reported in Kalaburagi, 52 in Belagavi and 46 in Mysuru.

Should the pandemic recede soon and children be back to in-person schools, they might not see some of their most loved teachers.

The department said that 183 primary school teachers and 49 secondary school teachers in government schools had lost their lives to the pandemic. In aided primary schools, 13 teachers lost lives while 19 deaths were reported among teachers in secondary schools. No data was available for unaided schools.

Besides this, 14 non-teaching staff in government and three in aided schools had lost lives to Covid.

Sultana Shenoy, director of Turning Point, a counselling centre based in Bengaluru, said, “Many times, a teacher is a friend, a mentor and counsellor. It could be devastating if kids were close to them. Schools must counsel children, conduct remembrance services, thank those teachers and help children come to terms with it.”

Vijyapura district in North Karnataka alone lost 56 teachers in the second wave. In Raichur, 15 primary and high school teachers succumbed. Officials in the department also said that the death toll in Bidar could be over 50.

 Source: TOI

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