Hyderabad: Online classes for students give jitters to parents

Hyderabad: Lalitha, an IT professional struggling to balance her work-from-home and her LKG studying toddler for the last two-and-a-half months, found herself at the receiving end when she saw a message flashed on her mobile. The message sent by the school in which her son studying reads, "We are happy to announce reopening of school from June 1. But, in online mode".

The school management informed that it has decided to go for virtual schooling due to the COVID lockdown and deployed a cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform offering video telephony services.

She was asked to click the link sent and figure out how to enter a classroom and make her child listen to the classes sitting before a computer or laptop.

But, the working mother had to scratch her head as to how to make her active and fun-loving son of LKG sit before a computer and be attentive to an online class? When contacted, she found parents of other children studying UKG and upwards were also equally worried.

The problems are more for working parents. Besides their work from home responsibilities, they will have to monitor the kids.

Venkat Prasad, working in an IT firm in Cyber Pearl in Hitec City, asked: "What is the hurry in commencing classes for primary classes?" He has decided not to allow his four-and-a-half-year old daughter studying in UKG to attend online classes. "I prefer home schooling until normalcy restores as it is not the suitable age to attend online classes," he said. One of the main reasons cited by the parents for their reservations regarding online classes particularly for primary classes is that there will be no bonding between the students and teacher. The children who passed UKG to class 1 do not know who their teachers are. It is very difficult to ensure that they sit before the computer continuously and listen to what the teachers try to teach them.

An IT professional said, "Forcing children to be electronically attentive to a computer screen for more than half-an-hour to one hour and in a repeated manner will lead to dry eyes and could affect their vision.

Expressing similar views, Srinivasa Murthy, an IT Manager from Madhurangar said, so far neither the State government nor the Education Department has come up with guidelines to the schools on launching online education to children. It is not proper for schools to start online classes on their own. "There is no match to classroom teaching particularly for the primary children. Physical presence and direct interaction with teacher only can make them learn things. It could even affect their natural process of thinking and learning.

A large number of parents shared with The Hans India that it would be better if the schools wait for clear instructions from the government and in the meanwhile prepare a blueprint on how to ensure the safety of these little kids when schools re-open. Just as film industry is in discussion with the government on commencing shooting of movies, government should hold consultations with school managements and parents to find a way out, they said.