Online classes a necessity as education can’t be stopped: Mundhe

Nagpur: In his first interaction through video conferencing with private school principals from city, Nagpur Municipal Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe strongly supported online classes saying they were need of the hour.
Speaking to almost 850 participants, Mundhe also clarified NMC was indeed the competent authority for schools under Right to Education Act (RTE) guidelines. The civic chief said schools had a right to recover fee which was decided by the management committee, as long as it was being done in instalments.
“Online education is a necessity because education cannot be stopped. We cannot say when exactly schools will reopen hence the online teaching initiative has to continue,” said Mundhe. He expressed concern for those who do not have access to technology for the same.
“Findings of a recent survey suggests that in Nagpur around 22% students of Std I-V have zero access to technology needed for online education,” said Mundhe. The same survey mentioned that 32% students (Std VI-VIII) and 22% (Std XI-X) faced the same problem, whereas the numbers for NMC school students was higher.
“We have to think about these students. Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. So it could be congregating students locality wise and providing education at some common place thereby following health guidelines. Or taking help from NGOs to go to students’ homes and teach,” said Mundhe while broadly discussing out-of-the-box solutions.
He reiterated there were no “readymade answers” for these questions but he expected all stakeholders will actively work towards a solution. Mundhe even talked about making 900 wifi hotspots in city available for use by students for online education. He urged schools to develop their own learning platforms. “I know there are many in the market like Google Classrooms etc. It’s good that you all are using something, but try to develop your own platform,” said Mundhe.
When a participant pointed out that many groups were calling online education “a farce”, Mundhe said, “Tell them it’s necessary and if they have a problem ask them to speak with our office.” It is to be noted that state government itself has issued guidelines promoting online education.
Replying to a query from a CBSE school’s principal about the fee controversy, Mundhe said Maharashtra government never announced a fee waiver. “Schools must not ask for entire fee in one go but collect in staggered manner. Fee recovery is important for functioning of schools and they have a right to collect whatever was decided by the school management committee,” said Mundhe.
TOI had reported earlier about NMC asserting its right over schools in city, which was questioned by some. Mundhe said, “NMC is the competent authority as per RTE guidelines issued in 2013 and 2014. Why it was never implemented in Nagpur is now an irrelevant question. Some issues like grant-in-aid etc will obviously be handled by state education department, while for others schools can get in touch with my education officer.”
What Mundhe Said
* Book distribution on campus to be allowed with certain restrictions
* Over 900 wifi hotspots in city. Will explore options for use by students
* No fixed date for physical school reopening
* Sanitization, following guidelines after reopening is school’s responsiblity
* Government never announced waiver of school fee or ban on collection
* Online education is a necessity
* NMC is competent authority in city as per RTE guidelines