Delhi govt schools to hold parent teacher meetings from July 19 to better aid online learning

To help parents aid their children better during the continued online learning this academic session, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday announced that public schools will hold a two-week special parent-teacher meetings (PTMs), beginning July 19

To help parents aid their children better during the continued online learning this academic session, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday announced that public schools will hold a two-week special parent-teacher meetings (PTMs), beginning July 19.

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Between July 19 and 31, parents would be invited to visit the school and interact with teachers for a better understanding of their role in supporting children during the pandemic. “Covid-19 has impacted schooling adversely and we are unsure of when schools will reopen. Since online learning has increased the role of parents in their child’s education, the education department has decided to conduct special PTMs for parents of all students of Delhi government schools,” he said.

Rakesh Semalty, head of a government school in West Jyoti Nagar, said, “Some of the schools are doubling up as vaccination or dry ration distribution centres. So we will have to finalise the meeting slots in such a way that there is no overcrowding. Coordination between teachers, students, and parents is a must. Last year, too, our teachers interacted with parents and counselled them to be more attentive towards children and to also allow them more access to electronic devices at home.”

Last week, the government also announced the commencement of the academic session for public schools along with a three-phase initiative to allow a smoother transition for students returning to classes after a difficult period. From March to May, Delhi saw over 13,000 Covid-19 deaths over 786,000 infections. Its effect, teachers said, is also visible in children with many of them having lost a loved one to the viral infection or having at least one case of Covid in their families.

While Delhi government school teachers will be responsible for parent-teacher meetings, municipal school teachers, who will also join the meetings, will counsel parents of students who have just started class 6. Every year, around 170,000 students move from municipal schools -- they offer education only up to Class 5 -- to Delhi government schools in class 6.

“PTMs for students of class 6 will be conducted jointly by MCD school teachers and government school teachers. This decision has been taken to ease the transition of students from MCD to the government’s directorate of education schools in class 6 and ensure that children receive adequate emotional and learning support in the new environment,” he said.

Keeping Covid-19 regulations in mind, these PTMs will be done in small groups with school officials ensuring covid-appropriate behaviour. Parents of students in DoE schools will be informed of their slot through SMS or WhatsApp.

Balwan Singh, a primary school teacher at a municipal corporation school in Narela, said, “We have contacts of parents and are familiar with both students and parents. So the move will help. But the main challenge will be to track students who have completely fallen off the grid and have not even taken admission in class 6.”