New Delhi: With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping schools across the country shut, the beginning of the new academic year has gone for a toss.
As the decision to reopen educational institutions after months of lockdown for regular classes are yet to be taken by respective state governments as unlock phase 1.0 unfolds, the reopening might be an uphill task for students, teachers and parents to ensure that safety protocols are adhered to with stringent social distancing measures in place.
Parents too are largely unsure of sending their children to schools once they reopen and are opting for online learning until a vaccine is found to treat the coronavirus.
"I am not in the rush to send our children to schools when they reopen. Until and unless a vaccine is developed, I am not sending my kids to schools. It is better to be at home and avail the benefits of online teaching. They are too young to understand the norms of maintaining social distancing, using a mask and wash hands regularly," Ruchi Jain, a mother of two from Apeejay School, Pitampura, Delhi told ETV Bharat.
"Syllabus should be reduced to 40%, online exams should be conducted, provision for Moodle online learning platform should be introduced for conducting online exams as a part of the school curriculum. Moreover, every day two to three classes are conducted by the teachers and we are happy with that. All the teachers are working from home as of now, so the operational cost has reduced, hence the fee should be reduced", she added.
Jain says, "Although there are pros and cons of online education, it is preferable given the current situation. At least, the kids are safe. Instead of eight periods, they are attending two periods. As parents, we should forbid our kids from browsing other online sites to avoid cybercrimes and allow them to spend only two-three hours a day in front of the screen. Initially, parents are suggesting two classes a day and rest should be written work".
On the other hand, teachers point out that utmost vigil and awareness about the precautionary measures have to be created in case of students in kindergarten and lower primary sections who are ignorant of hygiene maintenance.
"School learning post-COVID-19 will drastically change. The teaching-learning process has changed in the present time but this online learning environment is not very suitable. There are a lot of things required for overall grooming of a child. Post COVID-19, there would be a better relationship between teachers and parents because now the parents understand how tough it is to teach a child, they have learnt the importance of school. Parents would be expecting more transparency post-COVID-19", Mamta Mittal, a teacher of Hansraj DAV Model School, Delhi told ETV Bharat.
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Moreover, teaching while wearing masks will be a hindrance to classroom dynamic post-COVID-19.
"Presently, the exams are conducted in the form of multiple-choice questions, so I believe, there might be a demand for objective questions which is easy to score and a good tool to assess' students. Overall, there should be a change in the Indian schooling system, the syllabus should be modified and reduced. All the schools should adopt the policy of introducing an online platform for the parents to have direct access to students' record", she adds.
She underlines that on an average, half of the strength of a class would attend school on alternate days and the lecture should be recorded online and posted to avoid shuffling of batches. "Hence, even if the schools reopen, we have to go by the online tool alongside the classroom teaching", she says.
Further, Mittal said, "Morning Assemblies PT classes will be a strict no-no". However, she admits that it will be 'challenging' for both parents and teachers once the school reopens and that parents are adamant to send their kids back to school".
"Webinars and interaction a must with the parents for sensitizing students especially younger ones regarding the new normal, Medical facility should be increased and precautionary measures to be followed which includes disinfectant and sanitizing of schools and medical rooms. We need to act sensibly and remain extra watchful", she highlights.
"I will not at all send my kid to school till the time a vaccine is develop and that too the vaccine has to be tried and tested for it is to work well. Even if the school says that my kid will lose a year, I don't care if my son loses a year. There is no way that I am going to send him to school even if the vaccine is created in next one year", says Anu Pandey, a lecturer and mother of a student who is in class 1 of Appejay International school, Delhi.
She further suggests that the government should come up with a teaching online platform that should be a part of the school curriculum and avoid zoom or google meet. Proper class, lectures should be conducted for older students and for students of lower classes, parents can teach them and teachers can give homework for better understanding.
"India is a highly populated country and to abide by social distancing norm in school is almost impossible. It will be tough to made kids stick to social distaining, wearing of masks and hand washing at appropriate times. The government should consider opening the school for senior class students but for lower primary class students, it should be kept on hold", Anu adds.
Delhi's Education Minister Manish Sisodia in a comprehensive article penned down by himself, 'has urged the HRD minister to considerably reduce the syllabus; scrape board exams, train teachers; and make schools a place of happiness.'
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