Punjab teachers battle it out, virtually

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 11

Amritpal Kaur, a teacher at Government Senior Secondary School (Boys), Nakodar, talks to her students even while she cooks a meal for her family. Regularly in touch with her students’ families over the cellphone, she is the face of thousands of teachers in 8,000 middle, high and senior secondary Punjab schools, holding online classes, interacting with students from 7 am to 11 pm every day.

ONLINE CLASSES: PROBLEMS GALORE

• Interacting with students from 7 am to 11 pm daily
• A section of students has no mobile connectivity
• Poor students have to borrow phones for lessons
• Downloading video lessons can be expensive
• Some students lack sufficient funds for recharging

Some teachers say online teaching makes it difficult to address all students at the same time. Also, a section of students has no mobile connectivity, they point out. “This is the beginning of the academic session and except for 15-20 per cent students, the rest are just not involved,” a principal based in Tarn Taran district says.

Another teacher says there are students who have cellphones but lack sufficient funds for recharging. “Downloading video lessons for different subjects can be expensive,” she observes. Programme planner Chander Shekar admits that online teaching demands continuous innovation. “For example, a section of students insists that lessons be sent to them in their teacher’s voice. Some teachers have been pleading with parents to lend their mobiles to poor students to help them attend classes. Each day we face new challenges and look for ways to overcome these.”

Secretary Education (Schools) Krishan Kumar says: “Our biggest achievement has been our planners laying out an effective road map. Our programme has delivered beyond our expectations.”