Patna schools revert to online classes for new session, some are upset
Some school teachers said they needed to prepare for online classes, which they said, was a tiring job.
While most Patna schools are announcing schedule of online classes following the Bihar government’s order to close schools till April 11, due to rapid rise in Covid-19 infections, some are upset with the decision. Educational institutions were reopened in January this year after nearly a year long closure due to pandemic outbreak in March 2020.
Bishop Scott Group of schools held an online meeting with staff members to formulate plans for resumption of online classes starting from Monday. Ashfaque Iqbal, the vice-principal of the boys’ wing, said, “Sticking to our school calendar, we will begin online classes to prevent delay in academic session. As we are acquainted with online mode of teaching, we just need to brush up on the online system.”
St Karen’s High School, DAV Public School, St Michael’s High School and Don Bosco Academy will begin their new sessions between April 6 and 8.
Rajiv Ranjan Sinha, principal of Baldwin Academy and the city coordinator of CBSE, said, “Majority of private schools are familiar with online teaching, so it is less challenging to switch to online mode this time. As there is uncertainty about the reopening of educational institutions, it is best to continue academic activities digitally.”
However, teachers said they needed to prepare for online classes, which they said was a tiring job. Aradhana Singh, a TGT teacher, said, “We need to prepare study materials and videos on the specific topic for online classes, which takes around three to four hours.”
Bihar Public School and Children Welfare Association has asked the state government to provide data regarding Covid-19 transmission in private schools. Association’s chairman DK Singh, said, “Private schools were operating regular classes following Covid-19 safety protocols. Sudden closure of schools has left school operators hassled. We have sought data from the disaster management department regarding Covid-19 infection in schools”.
Meanwhile, Patna University (PU) has also decided to start online classes from Monday.
“All colleges and departments will conduct online classes for students. Professors, researchers, and staff members can visit university campus following Covid-19 protocols,” said NK Jha, dean of students’ welfare.
No change in pre-scheduled exams
State universities and colleges issued notifications on Sunday clarifying that scheduled exams will be conducted on time. Nalanda Open University (NOU) and PU informed examinees that scheduled exams will be conducted at stipulated time and venue by observing Covid-19 safety protocols.