664 students across Maharashtra joined online classes hosted by BMC teachers

According to data collated by the civic body, until October 10, at least 973 applications were received for enrolment to online classes from students outside BMC-run schools. Of these, 693 were approved by the department and 664 students joined the online sessions conducted in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and English mediums.

Applications were rejected if there were multiple entries by the same applicant, or if an applicant was unreachable or did not express further interest, officials said.

Of the 973 applicants, at least 485 students belonged to private schools and 542 to government schools, the BMC data stated.

A majority of the applications for the online classes stated “Mumbai’s good merit” as a reason for enrolment, followed by “diverse academic experience”.

None of the applications stated “lack of fees” or “lack of online classes” as a reason for joining the online classes.

A lion’s share of the applicants hails from Mumbai’s suburbs (345), followed by Sangli district (99). No applications were received from Wardha, Washim and Yavatmal districts, whereas for many districts, the applications remain in single digit. Nearly half of all students who joined the online classes belong to Classes IX (101) and X (197), the data showed.

In terms of the language of instruction, a maximum number of 249 students have enrolled for Marathi medium, followed by English (186), Hindi (171), and Urdu (58).

In August, the BMC education department had started holding lectures on Zoom app for students, conducted by subject experts who had undergone rigorous training for teaching on the online platform.

The recorded sessions were uploaded on its YouTube channels — the department broadcasts class-wise videos in Marathi, Hindi, English, and Urdu mediums on its channels, titled “Bmc Edu”, for SSC students.

So far, the BMC education department has uploaded over 1,000 lessons in each medium and has 20,358 subscribers on its English channel, followed by 10,372 for its Marathi, 7,949 for Urdu, and 5,582 for Hindi channels.

BMC education officer Mahesh Palkar said, “We have begun the channels by roping in subject experts to deliver sessions, which will aid students’ learning to a great extent despite the lockdown.”

He added, “I urge parents to make use of this benefit for their child’s academic progress.” Admissions for its online classes will remain open until classes resume, Palkar added.