Online classes in Maha up to Class 2 also

Making amendments to their earlier Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for conducting online classes in Maharashtra, the education department on Wednesday allowed

Making amendments to their earlier Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for conducting online classes in Maharashtra, the education department on Wednesday allowed schools to conduct online classes for students from pre-primary to Class 2. As per a government resolution released late on Wednesday, pre-primary students can be asked to attend up to 30 minutes of online instruction from Monday to Friday. This has to primarily consist of assisting and guiding parents about the learning of their children. Students of Classes 1 and 2 can be asked to attend two sessions of 30 minutes each.

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“Of this, 15 minutes should consist of guiding parents and communicating with them, while the remaining 15 minutes could be used to impart activity-based learning to students,” stated the GR. Students of Classes 3 to 8 can attend up to two sessions of 45 minutes each, while Classes 9 to 12 can be asked to sit for four such sessions. On June 15, as the new academic year began for schools in the state, the Maharashtra government approved a set of SOPs proposed by the state education department to ensure uniformity in the conduct of online learning across the state.

The SOPs had stated that students up to Class 2 cannot be asked to attend any online instruction. The move was, however, criticised by several preschool chains, educationists and parents who thought that some interaction needed to be there, even for younger students. The GR also stated that the decision to physically reopen schools would rest with the local administration of every place. As per the department’s tentative schedule relea-sed in June, schools can first start Classes 9,10 and 12 in July, followed by Classes 6-8 from August and Classes 3-5 from September. This however, is subject to local permissions and the absence of a single case in the locality for a month. The changes are in accordance with a recent MHRD document on online education.