HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has announced to hold a live interaction through a webinar and address queries of parents and students. The minister took to his personal Twitter handle and asked parents to write their queries related to the education or mental health of children during the coronavirus lockdown.
The webinar will be held on Twitter at 1 pm. The minister has asked parents to start sharing their queries over tweets by writing to him with the hashtag – #EducationMinisterGoesLive.
Parents, I will be hosting a webinar to hear and address all your concerns related to you kid’s #education, mental health, etc.
So, let’s talk! 💻
Please comment below the questions you want me to answer with the #EducationMinisterGoesLive
Will be sharing more details soon! pic.twitter.com/DHanE9oR0N— Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) April 24, 2020
Questions have already started pouring in while some parents have been addressing concerns about school fee being hiked despite the government’s repeated appeals of not to. While some complain that they have moved back to their hometowns due to lockdown and the child’s board exam centre’s have been in their respective places of work.
Some parents were concerned about online classes being held for their five-year-olds, claiming it might have a negative effect. Some students also took to Twitter. Most of the queries from students were around the exam dates for national level competitive exams and college admissions.
The government had ordered a shutdown of schools and colleges. Many schools and colleges have taken to teaching online, however, not all students are being able to access the educational content online, hence creating a divide. The HRD Ministry has launched academic calendars for primary and upper primary school students so online education is in sync across schools and states.
Meanwhile, an exclusive report by The Indian Express said that the new academic session of 2020-21 has been postponed. A government-appointed committee recommending that the traditional mid-July start for higher education should be pushed to September.