Haryana: Summer break nears end, but classes on tabs yet to start

GURUGRAM: Nearly three weeks into summer break, most state-run schools are yet to begin conducting online classes via the free tablets distributed by the government in May to bridge learning gaps among students in senior classes. School reopens on July 1.

The education department, sources said, is yet to provide SIM cards required to activate the tablets to over 80% of the 25,000 eligible students in the district. Meanwhile, some teachers complained that students have been using the tablets for entertainment.
In the last week of May, TOI reported that the state education department issued directives for starting online lessons on the tablets from June 1. However, school teachers said that since a mega tablet distribution drive across the state on May 5, the CM’s birthday, when the government officially launched the Adhigam scheme for online classes on tablets, the scheme’s implementation has been on the backburner.
“The scheme has lost steam after the mega tablet distribution exercise on the CM’s birthday. Very few students have got the tablets ever since. Among those students who have received tablets, very few have got the SIM cards. Over 80% of students are yet to get their devices activated. I do not see it happening before schools reopens in July. The department has not issued any further directions to expedite the process,” said Haryana School Lecturer Association (HSLA) general secretary Sushil Katariya.
The delay has punctured the education department’s claims that the devices would streamline online education during the summer break to bridge learning gaps among students, especially those who did not have digital devices and active internet connections during the pandemic.
“All these claims are just eyewash. No online class and no post-pandemic intervention has happened. These all were mere public statements and far away from ground reality. We also have given up and told students to go for holidays if they wish because nothing will happen before the schools reopen in July,” said a Class 10 Maths teacher with the government senior secondary school in the Sohna block.
Besides, there have been reports of misuse of the devices despite the department claiming the installation of Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) and other security patches. Parents complained that a few students could bypass the security software and use the devices for gaming and surfing social media.
“There have been reports from a few districts like Panipat,” said Satyanarayan Yadav, district president, Haryana Vidyalaya Adhyapak Sangh.
The department, on its part, has denied the claims of security breaches, claiming the authorities have not filed any such complaint. “We have not received any official complaint about security breaches on a large scale. However, we had a discussion recently about an internal survey to map the digital behavioral patterns of students to test the efficacy of the security systems and enhance it further,” said assistant director (secondary education) Nand Kishore.