BREAKING: How Should Schools Conduct Online Classes? Central Govt. issues Guidelines! Details Listed

The Ministry of Human Resource Development announced guidelines for online classes that are to be conducted by schools on Tuesday. The ministry has recommended a cap on screen time for students.

Reportedly, online classes for pre- primary students cannot exceed 30 minutes. It also mentioned that two sessions can be held for classes 1 to 8. One session cannot be for more than 45 minutes. 

According to the guidelines issued for classes 9-12, 4 sessions can be held.

Earlier today, the HRD Minister announced through his tweet that guidelines would be issued by the govt. Shortly. 

“Introducing ‘PRAGYATA’: Guidelines on #DigitalEducation for school heads, teachers, parents, and students containing recommended screen time for children, tips on coping with mental/physical stress during #DigitalLearning & more. Stay tuned for more details,” the tweet read.

The ministry has introduced guidelines since some of the parents raised concerns regarding schools conducting online classes similar to regular ones, which has increased children’s screen time. At the same time, parents could not ignore the fact that the pandemic has induced this transition from classroom teaching to online learning since schools continue to remain shut for over four months. 

"To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, schools will not only have to remodel and reimagine the way teaching and learning have happened so far, but will also need to introduce a suitable method of delivering quality education through a healthy mix of schooling at home and schooling at school," HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ''Nishank said.

He mentioned that the guidelines focus on online education for students who are at home. "The guidelines have been developed from the perspective of learners, with a focus on online, blended, digital education for students who are presently at home due to the lockdown. These guidelines on digital education provide a roadmap or pointers for carrying forward online education to enhance the quality of education," Nishank added.