HRD MINISTRY: WAIVING OFF ATTENDANCE AND STAGGERED CLASSES, THE NEW IMPLEMENTATIONS?

The HRD Ministry is developing standard norms on safety, social distancing, and cleanness for school premises, and for online mode of education as well amid the prevailing pandemic in the country.

Putting a halt on the idea of necessary attendance for students, holding staggered classes, and giving breaks to different classes at the varied time were among the recommendations that administrators of the human resource development ministry and state education departments contemplated as they talked over schools matter to reopen schools against the background of the abiding Covid-19 pandemic.

Chief officials of the ministry retained that no date has or month has been determined for the opening of schools. To be certain, many have instructed against the reopening of schools; countries that have done so have waited till the infections started decreasing; in India, the number of every day new cases, and daily casualties continue to rise.
Many schools nationwide, including nearly 200 Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and those operated by state governments are acting as quarantine centers, comprising for migrants.

There are many facets and the HRD ministry is struggling with strategies keeping all these factors in a sense, told by one of the officers mentioned above, asking not to be recognized.

In the conference chaired by School Education Secretary Anita Karwal, the patterns of these were rationed with states and their acknowledgments needed within a week.

Among the standards that the HRD ministry has taken into consideration are:
Carrying out classes in different switches,  putting off attendance regulations, motivating students who can go for classes online to stay at home, missing with morning assemblies, assuring the transport facilities follow social distancing criteria.

All the classes not having a lunch break for simultaneously, usage of masks and sanitizers, and preventing sports or cultural meet.

The authority will also come up with comprehensive standards for hostel schools as well as for online education. To be accurate, education is on the concurrent list which states both the Centre and the state can issue orders on it.

When asked about the reports on a decided date on the opening of schools, ministry officials underlined that a final ruling can only be accepted after a conversation with the other related authorities.

Authority said that the department is conscious that online education can’t be an alternative to the formal mode of teaching with many pupils not having personal appliances or network connectivity. However, a blueprint is being instructed to address this problem, they asserted.

Prevalent, there is a notion that daily online classes should not go more than a couple of hours. They have told NCERT and CBSE to look into several areas. The SOPs when they come out are likely to indicate these topics,” said the additional official.

Following the committee, HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank tweeted that useful advice was collected and will be communicated with the Health ministry and the Home Affairs ministry. Our preference has always been the protection and security of students, he added.

In its plans, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared that the conclusion on the opening of educational institutions would be taken in July after teachers’ and parents’ advice.

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Divya Parihar: Reader, writer, learner ! Easier to locate with a book in a nook or eating at outlets with live music.