Mumbai schools take to apps, sites to communicate with parents

From sending attendance alerts to updating parents on the day-to-day happenings at schools, dedicated school apps, official websites and Whatsapp groups have emerged as the new, and faster means of communication between schools, parents and children.

Remember how teachers had to write notes in students’ diaries to communicate with their parents regarding tests or homework, or schedule appointments with them to discuss complaints? In the age of smartphones and social messaging platforms, gone are the days when parents would have to wait for their children to come home and depend on them to show them their diaries, or tell them what happened in school.

Mumbai schools take to apps, sites to communicate with parents. (HT)

From sending attendance alerts to updating parents on the day-to-day happenings at schools, dedicated school apps, official websites and Whatsapp groups have emerged as the new, and faster means of communication between schools, parents and children.

Tech to the rescue of working parents

For entrepreneur and parent Monali Desai, keeping track of her seven-year old daughter’s studies has become easier, thanks to a parents’ WhatsApp group that she is a part of. Desai, who has to travel for work often, said she completely relies on the group for information.

“For instance, last week, the teacher had asked my daughter’s class to bring some material for a craft project. While the announcement was made a week ago, my daughter never told me about it. Just a day before the deadline, some parent mentioned it on the group, which is when we got the materials,” Desai said.

Most schools have their own mobile apps that help parents keep a track of what is taught in class every day. “On the school portal, we declare the syllabus a month in advance for all subjects. Our teachers also have to submit a teaching plan to the school at regular intervals and ensure it is followed,”said Kavita Sanghvi, principal, Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial School, Vile Parle.

“Apart from [social messaging platform] groups, which have parents, higher secondary students [Classes 8 to 10] have their own groups where we send them homework and test materials. As opposed to sending out emails, this [the groups] allow us to get immediate feedback. We can also be certain that everyone has taken note of important notices and announcements,” said Sanghvi.

Janhavi Samant, a working parent from Matunga, said the group she is part of is extremely useful as sometimes children do not take down what happened in class. “I can rely on the WhatsApp group for the details. In case of flooding or any emergency situations, it comes in very handy as announcements quickly reach parents,” she said.

Schools address plaints through apps

At schools run by the Children’s Academy Group of Schools, there is an app for every need.

“We have an app for complaint redressal, especially designed for parents. Parents can send in their complaints against a teacher, an official, staff members or anyone associated with the school. An explanation is sought from the concerned person and parents have to get a response within three days. If that does not happen, the complaint is forwarded to the principal,” said Rohan Bhat, chairperson of the group. “If parents are not satisfied with the response, they can escalate it through the online system and the management then looks into the case,” Bhat said.

Homework, activities, tests go online

Many schools have started updating students and parents about homework and other assignments through the school portal or app.

“Today, people use their mobiles very extensively, and so, it is the best way to communicate things to them easily. We use our app for all sorts of communication,” said Francis Swamy, principal at St Mary’s ICSE School in Mazagaon.

Many schools also take tests through these apps or portals. “We upload question papers for tests online. With this medium, we have to be extremely careful as even if there is a single mistake, parents easily point it out as it reaches them on their phones,” added Sanghvi.

The schools under Children’s Academy Group of Schools have a system of testing students on what is taught in class with multiple choice questions that they need to answer on the app. The schools also have an app for teachers to share lesson plans and update assessment status.

Every teacher spends an hour or two every day to update details on the app and parent groups. “I have been teaching for more than 20 years now and this is a new addition to my schedule over the last few years. We have to always update every small detail in time. While it helps in better communication, all of this also requires a lot of time and energy daily,” said the teacher of a school in Malad.

The downside: Anxiety, confusion, intrusion

On November 7, as a sudden downpour lashed the city, Mrinal Joshi, a Borivli-based resident, woke up to 67 messages on a WhatsApp group that connects parents of students attending her child’s school.

The messages were in response to an announcement shared by a parent: “On account of heavy rains, students would be left earlier than the usual time. Parents can pick them up or the respective buses will drop them home”.

After sifting through several panic-stricken messages from other parents, Joshi realised the announcement was an old one, made by the school in July, and got to know that the school would operate as per schedule on that day. “By the time someone could clarify that the message was old, I got three calls from parents asking how the school could suddenly make such an announcement,” said Joshi.

With groups and apps buzzing with notifications and alerts every minute, many parents said they were anxious all the time. With so many people communicating, there is also a chance of misinformation spreading quickly. “There are some parents who are too involved in what is happening, and it becomes intrusive after a point. For instance, a parent once asked the class teacher to share the location when students had gone on their field trip. This, sometimes, becomes unnecessary,” said a parent.

Arundhati Chavan of the PTA United Forum said parent groups have also made parents and students a bit “lethargic”. “As they get to know everything easily, no effort is made to plan things and keep track of what is happening,” she said.