For students of classes 10 and 12, who will be taking up the board examinations in 2021, CBSE schools in the city have resorted to classes over Zoom, video lessons and online tests to teach the syllabus for the upcoming year.
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CBSE schools generally conduct the first school term for a month before shutting down for the summer holidays. As part of the preventive measures taken to avoid the spread of COVID 19 however, all schools are currently shut till April 14.
“For students who are going to classes 10 and 12, our teachers have been taking classes on Zoom. Online classes can be tough for students to concentrate in for a long period of time. So, we’ve scheduled only four hours per day,” said Asha Nathan, principal, Chennai Public School, Anna Nagar.
Teachers at Everwin Vidhyashram have been asked to record one-hour video lessons in various subjects for students of classes 10 and 11, said B. Purushothaman, senior principal, Everwin Group of Schools. “After the video classes are sent, students will be given time to reach out to their teachers for clarifications as well. We’re also planning to send short tests online that parents will be required to administer to the students,” he added.
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At Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram, students have been given the option to take up online classes with their teachers through the week. “Teachers have been keeping in touch with the students who will be taking up the board exams next year and online classes have been conducted for batches of students who have shown interest,” said P.G. Subramanian, principal of the school.
Mr. Subramanian said that once schools reopen after the summer vacation, it is important that there is no undue pressure on the students and teachers to rush through portions. “Despite the fact that we were not able to have lessons now for these classes, we will be able to make it up in the upcoming academic year with some adjustments. Students should not be under any sort of pressure,” he said.
Several schools have also enrolled with coaching academies in the city, which already have an online curriculum in place and whose classes the students can attend.
In a circular about the secondary and senior school curriculum sent out recently, the CBSE has said that the board will consider the possible loss of instructional time due to the closure of schools. “Revision if any, required in the syllabus and pattern of exams in various subjects will be chalked out in consultation with the course committees as well as examination committees and will be notified in due course of time,” the circular added.