HYDERABAD: Many private and corporate schools in the city have begun their academic year and started conducting online classes for students. Aided schools such as Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society (TMREIS), Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS), and Telangana Residential Educational Institutions Society (TREIS) have started using Digital Learning Mobile App called Online Adaptive Knowledge System (OAKS).
No plan in place
But, the State government still has no plans to begin the academic year, and, the government teachers are worried whether they would be able to complete the syllabus in time. “Neither Covid-19 is going to end anytime soon nor the holidays and Saturdays would be enough to cover the number of classes missed. The government will have to reduce the syllabus,” said Chava Ravi, general secretary, Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TSUTF).
“Online teaching would also be difficult because many of the students come from weaker sections of the society and their parents cannot afford to pay for smartphones, personal computers and internet. So, reducing the syllabus might be the only option,” Ravi added. According to sources from the School Education Department, the government has not planned anything yet on when to begin the academic year. In fact, it has not yet released any guidelines for conducting online classes.
“We have seen some progress with the online classes. At least 60 per cent of our students are regularly attending the classes. Some cannot attend because they do not have smartphones or internet connectivity,” said MA Lateef, Academic Head TMRESI. “We are witnessing an increase in the number of students attending online classes, which is a good sign. We are hopeful that we will be able to complete the syllabus without any delays,” Lateef added.