Amritsar: Parents apprehensive about online classes

Neha Saini

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Amritsar, May 4

The Punjab Government’s decision to reschedule school timings and directing schools to take online classes from May 16 to May 31 in the light of heatwave conditions seem to have not gone down well with parents as well as the teaching fraternity.

The Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) on Wednesday released a statement, strongly objecting to the decision calling it another blow to learning and education of children, who have already been facing disruptions for the last two years.

“Instead of imposing pro-privatisation and discriminatory online education in the face of rising heat, provide uninterrupted power supply and generators in schools to ensure continuity of learning. The early summer vacation would cut down on teaching days, putting pressure on students and teachers to complete the syllabus on time. The decision will once again impact children, especially in government schools, who have already lost precious learning time due to the pandemic-hit years,” said Ashwani Awasthi, district president, DTF.

The teachers insisted that in the last two years, with the closure of educational institutions for almost 15 months due to Covid-19, online education had not proved much effective as compared to regular classroom teaching. “In case of students in government schools, who do not have the means for getting access to online classes, the situation once again is similar. It will disrupt learning for them,” said Awasthi. Meanwhile, parents too are facing some challenges with rescheduled school timings, especially whose wards take school transport.

“My elder daughter, who is 11, has to take her school bus at 6am, which means she now wakes up at 5 am to reach school by 7am. She comes home by 1.30 pm. Similarly, my younger one, who is in nursery, goes to school at 8am and comes back by 11am. There is no routine left for kids as well as parents, especially working parents, who have to manage their office timings now with more difficulty,” shares Pooja Arora, a digital marketing professional from city.

Anupama Sharma, another working mother of two, shares that the resumption of online classes will once again raise doubts among children and parents. “It will once again disturb the schedule of children as well as parents. In case, there is another Covid-19 wave in the coming months, learning will once again be effected. So, why waste precious time of students now,” she said.