Director, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Dinkar Patil today made it clear that the state government order not to impart online education to students of pre-primary and first and second standard students is limited to the state government schools only.The office of the school education minister Varsha Gaikwad also reiterated this information. Confusion prevails currently among the managements and parents of the state and central boards schools. The June 15 order of the state government contains guidelines for reopening of the schools in phases. These instructions are not applicable for central boards schools.
“The order is applicable to which schools?” this scribe enquired with Sunil Chandanshive, the private secretary of school education minister Varsha Gaikwad. Chandanshive said that the order was applicable to the state government schools. He also made it clear that the state has requested the central government to ask central boards to issue similar instructions to the central board schools also. SCERT director Patil said that the government order of June 15 and instructions mentioned in it were meant for the state board schools. However, the order refers to the directives issued by the revenue and forest department and also to the instructions issued by the disaster management department. The orders issued by the disaster management department from time to time due to the corona pandemic will remain applicable to schools of all boards, he added.
Meanwhile, Former Maharashtra education director Mohan Aute said the state government order is comprehensive. It has been issued considering the psychology and comprehension ability of the children. It is completely wrong to make online education compulsory for the students of the first and second standards. Whichever boards the schools are affiliated to, owners of educational institutions and teachers should teach different activities to the children of this age and should not make online education compulsory for them. Owners and parents should realize that compulsion may affect the psychology of children. Will they have made online education compulsory for their children at such a tender age, the owners of educational institutions, parents and teachers should ask themselves, Aute added.
The story is contributed by Atul Kulkarni of Lokmat.