68% parents say their children need textbooks for online school classes
NEW DELHI: As the Central government has extended the lockdown period till May 3, the government is pushing for online classes 68% parents say their children need textbooks for online school classes, while 24% parents do not have a digital screen for the children to access online classes. As the Central and State governments are working on the details for lockdown extension and defining the list of essential good, now the parents from across the country wants the authorities to school textbooks, laptops, desktops, tablets and stationery to it, which is expected to be announced on Tuesday.
Many schools have given schedules and time-tables to their students for online classes or have already started organizing online classes. Schools are conducting online classes via platforms like Teams, Zoom, Skype, Google Classroom, Google Hangout, Piazza and teachers are uploading lectures and class notes through YouTube, WhatsApp, among others. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has also written to the chief secretaries of all the state and union territories, asking them to organize online classes for students by making use of the existing resources.
However, a country-wide survey by LocalCircles revealed that majority of the children don’t have their textbooks, while others are either missing classes or facing problems due to non-availability of hardware like desktop/ laptop/ tablet.
With uncertainty prevailing regarding the duration of the lockdown and for how long the alternate arrangement of online teaching will continue, the availability of physical textbooks to supplement the online learning is quickly becoming an issue for many parents and children.
In the survey conducted of the 26,545 parents and grandparents 68% said they need physical textbooks to be effective during in online classes, while 5% said online classes haven’t started for their kids.
To another question, 24% parents said they currently do not have a screen (desktop, laptop and tablet) for their child to access online classes and 74% said they have at least one of them.
Given the sudden lockdown decision, many parents have reported that they currently have access to only one computer/ tablet at their home. Parents also reported having two children at home needing online classes and only one screen available at home and hence the other child is using the parents screen. Some parents said that since they have been working from home, there is major disruption in their work from home activity, as the child is using the screen.
In a related LocalCircles survey a week ago, which the TOI reported, 43% parents had highlighted not having the necessary equipment for their children to participate in online classes.
LocalCircles on behalf of the parents have written to the cabinet secretary, government of India to enable parents to procure necessary computer hardware, textbooks and stationery for children to participate in online school classes during COVID-19 lockdown.
Many schools have given schedules and time-tables to their students for online classes or have already started organizing online classes. Schools are conducting online classes via platforms like Teams, Zoom, Skype, Google Classroom, Google Hangout, Piazza and teachers are uploading lectures and class notes through YouTube, WhatsApp, among others. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has also written to the chief secretaries of all the state and union territories, asking them to organize online classes for students by making use of the existing resources.
However, a country-wide survey by LocalCircles revealed that majority of the children don’t have their textbooks, while others are either missing classes or facing problems due to non-availability of hardware like desktop/ laptop/ tablet.
With uncertainty prevailing regarding the duration of the lockdown and for how long the alternate arrangement of online teaching will continue, the availability of physical textbooks to supplement the online learning is quickly becoming an issue for many parents and children.
In the survey conducted of the 26,545 parents and grandparents 68% said they need physical textbooks to be effective during in online classes, while 5% said online classes haven’t started for their kids.
To another question, 24% parents said they currently do not have a screen (desktop, laptop and tablet) for their child to access online classes and 74% said they have at least one of them.
Given the sudden lockdown decision, many parents have reported that they currently have access to only one computer/ tablet at their home. Parents also reported having two children at home needing online classes and only one screen available at home and hence the other child is using the parents screen. Some parents said that since they have been working from home, there is major disruption in their work from home activity, as the child is using the screen.
In a related LocalCircles survey a week ago, which the TOI reported, 43% parents had highlighted not having the necessary equipment for their children to participate in online classes.
LocalCircles on behalf of the parents have written to the cabinet secretary, government of India to enable parents to procure necessary computer hardware, textbooks and stationery for children to participate in online school classes during COVID-19 lockdown.
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