Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 9 Aug: The education department on Monday held consultations with all the DDSEs during a virtual meeting to decide whether to restart regular classes in the state.
At present all the schools are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and classes are being conducted online.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, Education Minister Taba Tedir said that the majority of the DDSEs, barring the one in Lohit district, suggested starting regular (offline) classes.
“All districts have suggested starting offline classes, except Lohit, where Covid-19 cases are high. The Lohit DDSE informed that health officials have suggested postponing the start of offline classes till the positivity rate comes down,” said Tedir.
The minister informed that the suggestions of the DDSEs will now be shared with the health department. “We will take the opinion and suggestion of the health department before making any decision. Also, I want to make it clear that, before today’s virtual meeting, all the DDSEs had been directed to hold consultations with parents, NGOs, SMCs, DMOs, student unions, etc, on this issue. The DDSEs presented their views and suggestions during the virtual meeting,” said Tedir.
He informed that the education department has been receiving calls to restart regular classes. “The last one-and-a-half year has been difficult for parents as well as students. The pandemic has hit the education system hard. We have been getting calls for starting offline classes from parents, SMCs, NGOs and student bodies. Online classes are not possible due to poor internet connectivity in the majority of the districts,” said Tedir.
The minister further said that the decision to continue with online classes was taken based on the suggestion made by the health department.
“The schools reopened on 1 July and online classes started on 16 July. The health department suggested continuing with online classes till 15 August. But now we are getting reports that online classes witness only 25 to 30 percent attendance. Apart from connectivity issues, it is not possible for every parent to buy a smartphone for online classes,” said Tedir.
