With COVID-19 severely hitting the education sector, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S. Suresh Kumar on Friday said that the government was still not sure about the dates for reopening schools and the manner in which classes will function.
“We still do not know when to open schools or how classes will be held and how to go about the teaching methodology once the schools reopen,” Mr. Suresh Kumar said on Friday, after the launch of Shikshaka Mitra app that the department had developed for teachers.
Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan on Wednesday announced that degree colleges in the State will reopen on October 1 and the academic year will commence from September 1 through online classes.
Mr. Suresh Kumar said that the coming academic year would be a “challenging one” as they were planning to begin the implementation of the National Education Police (NEP). He also said that those supporting the postponement of NEET and JEE examinations should see how successfully and smoothly the SSLC students wrote their exam.
Speaking about pending transfer of teachers, he said that the process would begin from the first week of September and that it would be done in a transparent way.
Boards merger
Mr. Suresh Kumar also said that the process of merging the SSLC Board and the PU Board would “begin soon.”
“Like we have the Higher Education Council, there is a need for a similar council for primary and secondary education. In that regard, we will form a similar council for primary and secondary education soon,” he said,
The Shikshaka Mitra app was launched by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and it would help teachers in getting their provident fund advances, leaves, applying for transfers and loans, among others.
“Now, teachers need not run from pillar to post to get their work done. Earlier, they had to even apply for leaves to do so,” Mr. Suresh Kumar said, adding that the information of around 2.5 lakh teachers had already been uploaded on the app and that it would be used in the transfer process that will begin from next month.
Helpline
Meanwhile, with an aim to address the grievance of teachers, students, parents, and employees of the department, the ‘Shikshana Vani’ helpline was also launched on Friday.
People can contact the tollfree number 1800-425-7302 or WhatsApp at 9483045130 or mail shikshanavani.edn@gmail.com for grievance redressal or to file a complaint.
The Education Minister also launched the ‘Education Ministers’ Dashboard’ which will be a one-stop system where all the information regarding the department would be available including the Student Achievement Tracking System.
Govt. help for teachers of pvt. schools?
Since the schools have not yet reopened hundreds of teachers, mainly working in private schools, are under extreme financial and other kinds of stress. “It is heartening to know teachers doing odd jobs to make their ends meet. We are thinking of helping such teachers. Since they are in large number, we are collating data and information and take further steps accordingly,” Mr. Kumar said.
