Maharashtra: Schools are better geared up for e-class 2.0 this academic year

MUMBAI: As schools get ready for the new academic year, albeit online, they are doing away with the practice of reshuffling students going to the next class.
The state has directed educational institutes to begin the new academic year from June 15. Online schools and colleges in Vidarbha will reopen on June 28. Like last year, blackboard teaching will be replaced by virtual classrooms for the second consecutive year. While teachers and students are better geared up this time, schools have made it easy for them by moving an entire division from one academic year to another.
Normally, students of a class are not moved to the same class in the next grade, but are shuffled into different divisions, in which they end up losing their classmate friends. Reshuffling is usually done to ensure that students mix and gel with different children through their school journey.
“Reshuffling would have disturbed the online teaching process that is in place. Groups were formed among students of each class last year. If the entire class moves to the same division of the higher standard, it will be easier for both students and teachers,” said Neelima Pathak, principal, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Vidyalaya, Vikhroli.
A teacher has to now simply connect with the class teacher of the division he/she will get and obtain all details about the student. “In physical school, it takes less than a month to know each student. In the virtual classroom last year, it was only post November that I knew names and details of my students,” said Virginia Dsilva, class 4 teacher of St Joseph’s school, Kandivli (west).
With a year into virtual teaching, teachers are well-versed with their online tools of teaching.
This year schools are also focusing on orientation sessions with parents, who are being advised to not chase marks and instead focus on inculcating values in their children. The results of many students in schools across the city indicated cheating during online exams.