64% of parents favour online classes: Survey

NEW DELHI: Normal school routine has remained disrupted due to the pandemic and is unlikely to resume anytime soon, but parents remain divided on the issue of online classes. According to a survey conducted across 204 districts, 64% of parents are in favour of online classes in schools as against 31% wanting a ban on them.
So far three states — Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh — have banned online classes for students of class V and below. The Karnataka High Court on Monday asked the state government to find a solution to the situation arising from the ban on online classes in the state. The ministry of human resource development (MHRD) is yet to issue any guidelines on online education and school reopening, though it has been nearly a month that it has been working on two sets of drafts.
A community social media platform, conducted a nation-wide survey to get the pulse of the parents and grandparents on this issue, where they were asked what should be the way forward on this.

In response, 31% parents said the bans should continue, while 49% said online classes should be started but limited to two hours per day. 15% said online classes should be started and run for the duration of regular school hours which could be 4-6 hours.
Some of the states decided to ban online classes for primary students on the ground that it will lead to over exposure of screens for young children. Another reason cited for the ban is that a large number of children, especially the under-privileged may not have access to devices or an internet connection.
On the other hand, some schools in these states have said that they had invested in building the infrastructure to provide online classes to younger kids, which will be of no use now. Many parents also stretched themselves to make arrangements for their children to attend online classes by buying laptops and tablets, getting a broadband connection etc., who now feel that all of that was done for nothing.
Rohan Parikh, director, the Green Acres Academy, Mumbai said: “The recent circular is well-intentioned and shows that the government cares about students' well-being. Unfortunately, it does not take into account the successes and transformation online learning has had on learning for students. Parents and teachers are very much in support of online classes in the continued lockdown. It is much better for a student to interact over a screen with their teacher than watching any other content on TV. Credible research shows little to no harmful effects of active screen time. It is when the child is mindlessly watching TV shows that most harmful effects are seen.”
Most parents are of the opinion that the online classes should be regulated in terms of the number of hours each day, so that younger children could continue to get education. During the study, some parents opined that screen time for children at home has anyway shot up as they are not allowed to step out of the houses and it is better if a part of that screen time is used in something productive.