Jharkhand: Govt schools mull online classes in morning & evening to suit students

RANCHI: Several government schools are likely to alter their classroom routine in order to improve participation of students during online classes. The state government has closed down all schools due to a steep rise in Covid cases.
Following the government’s decision, the Jharkhand Project Education Council on Tuesday directed the education officers to strengthen the online classroom system in view of the upcoming annual examinations.The education department is supplying study materials through a group Digi-Saath with a direction that they should be forwarded to students through WhatsApp. The online classes are held through various applications, including Google Meet and Zoom. School principals said many students are unable to join the classes due to lack of smartphones and laptops. Even if the parents concerned have the phones, they take those along with them for work. Under the circumstances, classes should be conducted in the morning and the evening hours when the parents are at home, they said.
Principal of Zila School, Deepa Choudhary, said, “Lack of smartphones and poor connectivity are major bottlenecks faced by students during online classes. Those studying in lower classes, in general, do not have their own mobile phones. We would take feedback from the students when they are in a position to attend classes so that changes are made in the routine.”
Expressing similar views principal of Middle School, Pandra Ashok Singh, said preparing the students for the upcoming tests is the sole job of teachers. He said, “I am of the view that online classes should not start before 5 pm. Online classes cannot be an adequate substitute for offline classes and it will be a real challenge to ensure participation of a large number of students in the exercise.” District education officer AV Bilung said the schools have the flexibility regarding class routine. He said, “If schools get feedback that number of students will increase by adjusting the routine, they should go ahead with it. Our aim is to reach out to a maximum number of students.”