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Parents for staggered reopening of schools for board classes, Punjab govt tells MHRD
FEEDBACK State government made the assessment on the basis of opinion of the parents of schoolchildren, school heads and academic experts as sought by the ministry on July 17
Chandigarh Parents of schoolgoing children in Punjab will be comfortable with reopening of schools only when the Covid-19 situation improves but they are not averse to starting board classes in a staggered manner, according to feedback received by the state government.
The state government gathered this feedback from the parents of schoolchildren, school heads and academic experts after the Union ministry of human resource development (MHRD) on July 17 asked all states and union territories to get the opinions regarding reopening dates of schools. The parents were asked by the state’s school education department about the likely period between August and October when they and their kids will be comfortable with reopening of schools and their expectations from schools as and when the classes resume.
The school education department, on the basis of feedback received from parents, has informed the central ministry that the parents will be comfortable with reopening of the schools only when the situation improves and they are sure that there is no risk to the health of students. “However, there is feedback that at least the board classes can be started with 50% strength of students. Students may be called to the schools on alternate days or once in three days so that there is least loss of studies during this period,” secretary, school education, wrote to MHRD on Tuesday without specifying any timeframe.
The official further said that this will enable the teachers to check the assignments of students and also give them homework. On expectations from schools whenever they open, it has informed the ministry that the parents expect that all safety measures will be ensured so that there is no risk to the health of their wards due to Covid-19. The feedback on physical classes has been received even as Covid-19 cases have seen a spike this month, going up from 5,568 on July 1 to 14,946 on July 29.
The school education department had sent the communication received from the MHRD to schools with a request to get feedback from parents. Also, discussions were held with the district education officers and school principals through videoconferencing. The Punjab government had closed all schools, including government and private, on March 13 and later cancelled the board examinations as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The final decision on reopening of schools will be taken by MHRD in consultation with the Union ministry of home affairs and ministry of health and family welfare.
MODALITIES FOR FREE PHONE DISTRIBUTION STILL NOT FINAL
A day after chief minister Amarinder Singh announced to kick off the distribution of 50,000 free smartphones among girl students of classes 11 and 12, the Punjab government is still in the process of finalising the modalities for their identification.
The government schools have approximately 1.88-lakh girl students in classes 11 and 12 whereas the state authorities had last year shortlisted ‘Lava’ after open bidding and placed an order for 1.60 lakh smartphones. “As priority is to be given to girl students who do not have phones, to facilitate online education, a survey will have to be carried out to identify them.
The modalities are being finalised,” said two officials in the know of the matter. The department also plans to give priority to girl students of schools facing shortage of teachers. Another official said the first consignment of 50,000 smartphones was ready with the company but not handed over so far. “The delivery schedule will be decided only after the identification of beneficiaries,” he said.
The sports and youth affairs department had notified the ‘Capt Smart Connect Scheme’ in December 2019, listing classes 11 and 12 girl students of government schools and students in final year of undergraduate courses in government ITIs and colleges in the first phase. The Congress had, in its manifesto for the 2017 state polls, promised 30 lakh smartphones with one-year of free data and calling to state’s youth, but has set several deadlines and missed them.
