The Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education has decided to begin the academic session from Monday for classes 9 to 12 through the online mode despite merely 30% of students having reached through online modules after schools shut and just 9.7% of households in rural areas having an Internet connection.
The Board will broadcast audio-visual lessons on Doordarshan from 7 to 10 a.m., after students and teachers first register themselves on a mobile application called ‘MASHIM’’, said an order issued to principals of schools on Thursday.
In case a student didn’t have access to a mobile phone for registration, said the order, she could use the phone of a known person or approach her school or a kiosk centre.
Modules available on YouTube
At least two units of each subject, divided into 10 units, will be taught every month through the audio-visual mode on TV, for which home assignments will be given. The assignments will be downloadable from the application, completed taking help of the book, teacher, friend or the family in her own handwriting and checked by teachers. The modules will be available on the application and YouTube for reference.
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In case a student is unable to access assignments, it was the responsibility of the principal to provide her with them, the order said. And “students who don’t complete assignments, she will be explained once, after which a warning will be given. Still if the student doesn’t complete her assignment, her registration will be suspended until she completes it,” the order said.
According to a recent National Sample Survey — Household Social Consumption on Education in India — just 9.7% households in rural areas and 35.4% in urban areas of Madhya Pradesh have an Internet connection.
“The order nowhere says a smartphone is mandatory,” Board’s Chairman Radheshyam Julaniya told The Hindu . “Instead, it’s a systemic approach to continue learning and teachers have to perform their duty well to ensure assignments reach everyone.”
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Stating that the Board didn’t want to compromise on the quality of education further by delaying the session, he said it was based on continuous evaluation, in line with the National Education Policy 2020, which focused on not what to think, but how to. “The assignments, essentially open book in nature, are meant to test comprehension and understanding of students. They will ensure regular learning until the final examinations.”
Stressed child community
Sachin Jain of Vikas Samvad, which works for child rights, contended the extensive focus on online learning was preparing a stressed child community. “Studying on smartphones is becoming stressful. You are creating exclusion as several students will be precluded from accessing regular modules available only in online form. There is no focus on learning as there is no monitoring.”
He said there was a difference between families having access to smartphones and children having them. “Are we entering a new education system where the teacher is not required? Have we taken feedback from the community before establishing such a system, and thought about the alternatives?” he wondered.
