Karnataka bans online classes for KG, primary school students

MANGALURU: Department of public instruction (DPI) on Wednesday banned educational institutions in Karnataka from conducting online classes for students of kindergarten and primary students up to fifth standard. DPI at the same time set up a high-powered expert committee comprising educationists, health experts in child psychology and academicians who will discuss the modalities of ushering in online education in the state.
Acknowledging the wide disparities that exist across Karnataka for roll-out of online education and one which could create section of haves and havenots, minister for primary and secondary education S Suresh Kumar said nearly 75% of students, majority of them in rural and taluk areas do not access to ICT tools needed for this purpose. Besides, there is need for consensus on screen time that students should be exposed to, during this exercise, he said.
Clarifying that the ban is for online education which required students to sit before a screen like they do in a regular class, the minister said there is no ban in disseminating information through recorded videos. “We have adopted this in the televised classes that were broadcast for students appearing for their SSLC examination through Doordarshan Chandana,” he said, adding, the committee will give its recommendations to the government in 10-days.
Averring that a section of experts that DPI has interacted over the past few days has suggested 30 minutes of screen time for students up to primary level, the minister said DPI will also take the initiative to record lectures by subject experts in different topics and upload it on YouTube. While the students can make use of these lectures to understand the topic on hand, teachers on the other hand can use it to brush their knowledge and update their skill sets.
Asserting that online education cannot replace classroom teaching, Suresh Kumar said the challenge before the committee is also to constructively engage the students in this extended vacation. With MHRD indicating that academic season 2020-21 could tentatively start mid-August, the minister said Karnataka is in no hurry to restart classes and advised the stakeholders not to pay heed to any rumours in this regard and interests of all will be taken care of.