UNION EDUCATION Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on Monday held a meeting with school education secretaries of states and UTs to discuss strategies adopted for online and offline learning in schools during the pandemic so far, and the way forward. The minister announced that the Centre has released Rs 5,228 crore in ad-hoc grants to the states under Samagra Shiksha programme and an additional Rs 2,500 crore will soon be released “to ensure continuity of various educational initiatives by the states and UTs” during the pandemic. During the meeting, the biggest since the pandemic struck last year, the states and UTs shared their strategies for continuing the learning process during the pandemic, the ministry said in a statement. “Haryana and Gujarat shared details about the assessment being done by the states while schools are not open. Many states such as Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have made digital apps to promote learning,” it said. The states also shared details “to promote online learning through digital devices, Doordarshan and radio” among others. During the meeting, which was held through video conferencing, Pokhriyal said a comprehensive Covid response document was issued on May 4 which gives a detailed action plan with corresponding timelines for all stakeholders involved in “Access, Retention, Continuous Learning, Capacity Building and Stakeholder engagement”. Pokhriyal underscored the importance of reaching out to most vulnerable and marginalised children in this pandemic period. He said the ministry has taken up several initiatives for facilitating continuing learning during the pandemic. These include expansion of DIKSHA under PM eVIDYA; DTH television channels under the bouquet of Swayam Prabha TV channels; and launch of online Nishtha training for teachers at Diksha among others.
