13 June,2020 07:55 AM IST | | Pallavi Smart
Representation Pic/istock
The state government has finally come up with a standard operating procedure SOP for online classes in view of the concerns raised by parents regarding the harmful affects of this new mode of learning on students. However, implementation will happen only after the guidelines receive the nod of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
According to the SOP, there will not be any online classes for pre-primary students up to Std II and for Std III and Std V students the classes will be held for an hour daily. Whereas, Std VI to VIII and Std IX to XII students will have the classes for two to three hours daily.
Though earlier parents had applauded the concept of virtual learning, over time they realised that there were a number of issues with it. They were primarily concerned about excessive screen-time, availability of gadgets, lack of uniformity and absence of guidelines. However, the SOP is now expected to streamline the entire process.
Speaking to mid-day, state school education minister, Varsha Gaikwad said, "We have been receiving complaints from parents regarding online learning. Hence, after considering all the suggestions that were given, we prepared an SOP to streamline the process." She continued, "Taking into consideration the physical and mental health of children, we have decided that the online learning sessions should not exceed a particular time limit, which has been decided as per the age groups. A 22-month-old child cannot spend hours in front of a screen. Parents approached us with their concerns and said that they were ready to pay fees but would not want to harm their children. These age-wise guidelines have been prepared after taking expert opinions." The SOP also mentions that there should be breaks at adequate intervals to ensure that children don-t spend a lot of time in front of the screens.
While many are supporting this move, the early education sector is not quite happy about the blanket ban on online learning for them. "Such an SOP was needed for the current times. We appreciate the move and hope it gets implemented soon. At the same time, we will also see that these guidelines address issues related to exams and mandatory attendance," said Sainath Durge, core committee member of Yuva Sena, which had written a letter regarding the need for such guidelines three days ago.
Reacting to the new rules, president of the Early Childhood Association, Swati Popat, said, "It was important to have guidelines and we appreciate that such a decision has been taken. But it is also true that just because of some schools, which were running full-time online classes, the ones who want to do it properly have also come under the blanket ban. Children at this age require brain stimulation in the form of learning from experts. Moreover, an hour with teachers works as a counseling session in the midst of this pandemic as well."
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