3 min readThiruvananthapuramMay 17, 2020 07:51 AM IST
First published on: May 17, 2020 at 01:32 AM IST
Based on the committee’s report, which came out last week, the UGC is expected to release guidelines on university examinations and online learning next week.
To tide over the disruption in studies owing to the lockdown, the Kerala education department has decided to take classes to the homes of about 45 lakh school students from June 1. A recent survey by the department found 94 per cent of students in state board schools have access to Internet or TV at home. The survey covered students up to Class XII who are enrolled in state board schools.
The classes would be telecast through educational channel IT@School VICTERS by Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), nodal agency for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education in state schools. KITE chief executive officer K Anvar Sadath said taking online classes to students is not a hurdle in Kerala. “Our survey revealed only 6 per cent of schoolgoing students do not have a TV or smartphones at their homes. All our schools from lower primary to higher secondary have at least one smart classroom, where the online classes can be live-streamed. In areas where students do not have access to delivery platforms at their homes, we can take them to smart classrooms at their schools while maintaining social distancing,’’ he said.
As per data for the last academic year, Kerala has 16,028 schools from the lower primary to higher secondary level that follow state board syllabus. These include both state-run and privately-run schools.
The classes over Internet and TV would mainly be for students from Class V onwards.
A 2018 survey by Cyber Media Research, a market intelligence firm, had found Kerala led the country in smartphone penetration. Smartphone penetration in Kerala is 65 per cent as compared to the all-India figure of 47 per cent. TV penetration in Kerala is over 90 per cent.
Sadath said all local cable TV operators are already telecasting VICTERS Channel. “We have requested the Union government to issue a direction to all DTH service providers to include VICTERS channel. Students can also access the sessions on YouTube,’’ he said.
He said teachers would also be part of the online classes through social media groups connecting students and would collect feedback from students and correct their worksheets.
Based on the committee’s report, which came out last week, the UGC is expected to release guidelines on university examinations and online learning next week.
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