New Delhi, June 22, 2020: Schools in the city are taking recourse to a technicality to persist with online education, even for Class I and II, which is banned as per the June 15 circular of the school education department.
The schools are saying that the standard operating procedure (SoP) was not technically binding on them, as the guidelines were not part of a government resolution (GR) or order.“
Last Friday, St Peter’s School, Mazagaon issued a circular to parents, which said: “There is a misconception in the minds of parents that the state government has banned online classes for preprimary and standards 1 and 2 and regulated the timings of online classes for standards 3 to 10. It may be noted that this GR is not a government order, but only a guideline and advisory circulated.”
Asked if the school was still conducting online classes for Class I and II, principal Eugene DeMonte said: “We need to keep the children engaged. Otherwise they will lose out on education. We are restricting it to one hour for the lower classes. It [the circular] is only a suggestion and recommendation. It is not binding.”
Due to this technicality, adhering to the SoP has become a matter of choice for schools. EuroSchool in Thane has not cancelled online sessions for Class I and II. However, it cut one lecture after parental hue and cry. “My child attends from 8.45 am to 12.30 pm. There was one post-lunch class, which was cancelled, but the online class is on. No parent has demanded that it be scrapped as per the government rule,” the parent of a Class II student said.
An international school in Kandivali too has not cancelled classes for Class I and II as on Sunday. Dahisar’s Rustomjee International School, on the other hand, decided to follow the guidelines, albeit grudgingly.
“It is with regret,” said the school in a message to parents on Saturday, “that we inform you that with the government guidelines, we are compelled to stop providing these online classes for 1 and 2 completely and to drastically reduce hours for 3 to 10. It is unfortunate that the demands of a minority few overrule the desire of the majority of parents who have requested us to continue with the line interactive face-to-face online classes.”
The message expressed hope that the government would reconsider its decision. The Members of International Schools’ Association (MISA) has already written to minister Varsha Gaikwad seeking a revocation of the decision to ban online classes for Class I and II according to the reports published in mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com.
“The time restrictions are fine, but stopping online education altogether will create an educational vacuum. That is the only way we are connected with the children. It is a constructive way to use their time. Children and parents are lost because of the abrupt ban. We want it back. If there is no online education, there is no education,” said MISA chairperson Kavita Agarwal.
Ironically, reduction in online class time has not resulted in reduced screen time, as schools have compensated for the decreased instructional hours with offline videos which students can watch at their convenience.
A section of parents said they had no objection with the long hours of online classes. “None of the parents I know has raised any concern. The objective is to not strain the eyes and health of children, but children are anyway addicted to mobiles. As parents we think, if they are attending online classes, at least they are engaged in something constructive.
