The rain kept its date with school reopening on June 1, but everything else was different. The school gates did not open, there was deafening silence, and even the first bell that rang was a virtual one. On the first day of the 2020-21 academic year, students watched on television and other online platforms teachers took lessons remotely, scripting a new chapter in school education.
First Bell, the programme on KITE Victers Channel and other online mechanisms, began with a message by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reminding students of education’s ‘new normal’ where owing to restrictions necessitated by COVID-19, traditional classes were not possible.
The e-learning mechanism may not seem complete owing to limited possibilities for interaction between student and teachers. However, such sessions were necessary to equip students for resumption of school activities at a later stage, Mr. Vijayan said.
The Chief Minister promised all arrangements for students to access the e-classes. Teachers would ensure that no student was deprived of facilities. Parents too should make sure that their wards were attending the sessions, Mr. Vijayan said.
The classes got under way with a half-an-hour English session for Plus Two students. After two hours, it was time for Class 1 students to hear the recorded classes. Up next was a slot for Class 10 students.
The online lessons, for students from Classes 1 to 12 except 11, are available on the KITE Victers Channel through the cable network and a couple of direct-to-home service providers.They are available live on the portal www.victers.kite.kerala. gov.in and on Facebook (facebook.com/victerseduchannel), and on the Victers YouTube channel youtube.com/itsvicters after transmission. The programmes will be telecast again – the same day or the weekend. The telecast in the first week will be on a trial basis. The classes will be repeated in the same order from June 8.
The Samagra Shiksha, Kerala, estimates that nearly 2.6 lakh to 3 lakh of the 43 lakh schoolchildren in the State have no access to television with cable connection or phones or computers with Internet.
Opposite view
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala termed the government’s decision to start online classes hasty, saying it did not benefit over half the students. Children in coastal, tribal, and hilly regions could not view the classes for lack of facilities. There were other issues to contend with even if they had television. The number of children with no access to these facilities was much more than that found in Samagra Shiksha’s survey.
However, government officials said all concerns would be ironed out soon by mobilising resources such as libraries, study centres, Kudumbashree units, local self-government institutions, Akshaya centres, and KITE’s hi-tech facilities.