Online classes have been hit hard in the rain-battered regions across Ernakulam district as students continue to face power disruptions and lack of connectivity owing to rough weather conditions.
The Education department has advised teachers to revise the previous lessons in view of the hardships being faced by numerous students, especially in the rain-affected regions such as Kothamangalam, Muvattupuzha, Kunnathunad, Aluva, and North Paravur. “We have not given new lessons after the rain had intensified over the last few days. Teachers and students have been told to revise the previous lessons as many students were not able to access the online classes in view of the heavy rain,” said Usha Manatt, District Project Co-ordinator of Samagra Shiksha Kerala.
The situation in the tribal hamlets under the department’s Kuttampuzha cluster is worse as heavy winds and relentless rain had snapped the efforts by students to watch the classes telecast through the government’s Victers channel. “But, we have been trying to ensure the learning process by recording a week’s classes into a storage device. The volunteers appointed by the department visit these tribal hamlets over the weekend. They also carry a laptop with them and the week’s classes are imparted to the children there,” said Sindhu P. Sreedhar, cluster co-ordinator in-charge of Kuttampuzha.
Jyotish P., block project co-ordinator, Kothamangalam, said that solar inverters and direct-to-home distribution facilities were provided for the benefit of students in the tribal regions. “However, these facilities will not work as expected in tough weather conditions. But we have delegated educational volunteers, who will visit each hamlet to impart lessons in the offline learning mode,” he said.
Parents have informed the education officers in the rain-hit regions that they were not able to access the online content in view of the frequent power disruptions and lack of Internet connectivity. “Teachers have been told not to step up the pressure of online education at these tough times. Students should not feel the mental stress of not being able to cope with the daily sessions,” according to the department officials.