Launched six months after the home learning started during the Covid-19 lockdown, the hour-long certificate course for teachers has assignments where a teacher is required to score eight out of 10 marks.
Motivating teachers to be corona warriors like policemen and doctors and reminding them of their “ethical responsibility”, over two lakh government teachers have been asked to undertake a mandatory “home learning online course” to make the most of state government’s “home learning” initiative for government school students.
One of the modules has parents as educators, with their digital literacy levels, education and access to digital devices as parameters.
Launched six months after the home learning started during the Covid-19 lockdown, the hour-long certificate course for teachers has assignments where a teacher is required to score eight out of 10 marks. Those failing to get the score will have to go through the programme again.
Announced on September 25, teachers are directed to undertake this course before October 15.
“Just like police and doctors who perform their duties amid Covid, you too have to become corona warriors. Be a Corona warrior and enable every student in learning so that learning does not stop even when the schools are closed. It is our ethical responsibility,” states State Project Director Samagra Shiksha P Bharathi in her video message that introduces the online training module to the teachers.
“The availability of digital facilities is not alike in the entire state. Over 70 per cent students have one or the other facility while 30 per cent still do not have any digital facility. Textbooks are available for such students and home learning module is printed and distributed to them,” states the home learning online training module for teachers.
In a recent survey conducted among 91.58 lakh students to assess the availability of technology medium through which a child could access home learning programme has brought out that while over 48 per cent has a television set, 59 per cent had a smart mobile phone or a tablet.
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Speaking to The Indian Express, Bharathi said, “The home learning training module is prepared to share the benefits of the initiative so that teachers can do it more interestingly.”
“Going by the number of students who should be reached through home learning, you have to make special efforts… so that the home learning message reaches out to the maximum number of students and parents,” Bharathi says in her video message.
Some of the questions based on the module include, “What is the purpose of starting a home learning course? How are children who have access to TV/internet being educated? How are children who do not have access to TV/internet being educated? What is the role of the teacher in-home learning?”, etc.
One of the five modules with the role of parents as educators divides parents into three categories — parents who are capable of teaching but do not have digital facilities, parents who are capable of teaching and have digital facilities and parents who are not capable of teaching and do not have digital facilities.
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Every parent has to ensure one-hour self learning by students, not to keep students busy in household chores during learning, let them read or learn in loudly, make them write one or two page everyday, check children’s notebooks and engage children in positive talk.
The state education department has been running home learning programme for Class 3 to 12. Launched in March through television channels, it has gradually used nearly all mediums such as BISAG (Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics), YouTube, Facebook, Microsoft teams and Jio TV. The department expanded the programme for students of Class 1 and 2 from September.
Ritu Sharma is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express' Gujarat bureau, an editorial position that reflects her experience and Authority in regional journalism. With over a decade of concentrated reporting experience, she is a highly Trustworthy and specialized journalist, especially noted for her Expertise in the education sector across Gujarat and previously Chandigarh.
Expertise
Primary Authority (Education): With over ten years of dedicated reporting on education in both Gujarat and Chandigarh, Ritu Sharma is a foremost authority on educational policy, institutional governance, and ground realities from "KG to PG." Her coverage includes:
Higher Education: In-depth scrutiny of top institutions like IIM-Ahmedabad (controversies over demolition/restoration of heritage architecture), IIT-Bombay (caste discrimination issues), and new initiatives like international branch campuses in GIFT City.
Schooling & Policy: Detailed coverage of government schemes (Gyan Sadhana School Voucher Scheme), the implementation and impact of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, teacher recruitment issues, and the impact of national policies like the NEP.
Student Welfare: Reporting on critical issues such as suicide allegations due to caste discrimination, and the challenges faced by students (e.g., non-delivery of NAMO tablets). ... Read More
