Covid-19 lockdown: All nursery to Class 8 students to be promoted, online classes for Class 12, says Delhi govt

The Delhi government on Monday decided to promote all students from nursery to Class 8 in all city schools without taking examinations under the no-detention policy in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Delhi government on Monday decided to promote all students from nursery to Class 8 in all city schools without taking examinations under the no-detention policy in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Delhi government on Monday decided to promote all students from nursery to Class 8 in all city schools without taking examinations under the no-detention policy in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Hindustan Times/File)

The final exams for these classes were suspended in almost all government schools and some private schools when the Delhi government issued an order to completely shut down city schools on March 19 to contain the spread of Covid-19 infection.

Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said that the government will also start online classes for Class 12 students enrolled in its schools, while also announcing free internet data package for them.

“The final exams of many classes were postponed because of the Covid-19 spread in Delhi. Also, in some parts of Delhi (north-east) the final exams were earlier postponed because of the communal riots. The government has decided to promote the students of nursery to class 8 enrolled in all schools in the city under the no-detention policy without writing exams,” Sisodia said.

Under the no-detention policy, no student can be failed up to Class 8.

Sisodia said the government is also considering a tie-up with some television channel to telecast subject wise classes for students enrolled in its schools in case the lockdown gets further extended.

While many private schools in the city have already started virtual classes to their students amid the lockdown, the Delhi government was yet to announce some initiative to continue the teaching-learning process in its schools.

Sisodia said that the government has drawn a plan to send daily activities to students enrolled in classes nursery to 8 in the government schools through SMS or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) form. “We have decided to send one activity to the parents of these students every day. It will involve reading, writing and thinking that can easily be done at home with the help of parents or siblings. Students will be asked to write these activities in their notebooks and teachers will evaluate them, when the schools reopen. The teachers will include it as a part of the students’ internal assessment,” he said.

The education minister said that the decisions were taken after consulting various stakeholders. The measures will be in effect from April first week.

The government has further announced that it will start daily online classes for Class 12 students of its schools. “All Class 12 students of Delhi government will be sent a link for an online portal where they can register themselves and attend these online classes daily. Those who register will also get money for internet data package from the government since many of them cannot afford it on their own,” Sisodia said.

The online classes will first begin for Class 12 students of Delhi government schools and later be extended to class 10 as well.

Besides, the Delhi government is also consulting with the CBSE on how to start the session for Class 9. “We are discussing with the CBSE on Class 9 and are waiting for Class 10 board results before taking any decision about Class 11 students,” Sisodia added.

The heads of government schools (HoS) appreciated the government’s move. AK Jha, principal of government co-ed school in Rohini, said that it will help the students catch up with technology as well. “With all these measures, the government school students can continue to engage themselves with their studies. We will use all the resources we have to continue the teaching-learning process during the lockdown. Learning should not get affected due to any reason,” he said.