Delhi launches remote learning plan to minimise academic loss

New Delhi, July 2

Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday announced the commencement of remote teaching-learning activities for students of city government schools starting next Monday.

In the wake of the closure of schools till July 31, the Directorate of Education has devised an alternate teaching-learning plan to reduce the academic loss of students in classes KG to XII of all government and aided schools in Delhi.

“Schools are closed, but learning will continue. Learning with human feel is the new mantra of Delhi government’s teaching-learning approach. We are following the principle that digital divide should not come in the way of children’s access to learning opportunities,” said Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia.

A plan of action in this regard has been worked out for the students through a combination of strategies using digital devices and support of the parents and the school managements.

From KG to XII, classes have been divided into three cohorts to follow three distinct strategies to support the learning of students. For KG to Class VIII, daily syllabus agnostic worksheets with content and questions, which will promote reading, writing, understanding, basic numeracy and happiness among the students, will be sent by the teachers. Similarly, for Class IX and X, daily subject-specific worksheets with subject-related content to strengthen the basic understanding of core subject matters will be sent to the students. In case of Class XI and XII, live online classes of up to two-hour duration in 12 subjects having the highest enrolment, starting with most basic topics, would be conducted daily.

All the head of schools have been asked to ensure that the class teachers have access to the updated WhatsApp group of students of their respective sections.

Teachers will also maintain a list of the number of parents who are not available on WhatsApp. Step by step process has been laid down by which students of KG to Class X, which are in cohorts 1 and 2, will get specially developed worksheets through their class teachers on WhatsApp.

Those parents who are not in the WhatsApp groups will be contacted over the phone by the concerned class teachers and be invited to the school to collect the worksheets for the entire week.

Only the parents will be invited, following the physical distancing protocol. The completed assignments would be sent back by the students or their parents to the teachers through WhatsApp.

Those collecting the worksheets physically will return the completed assignments to the concerned teachers in a similar manner and pick up the new worksheets. For students of Class XII, live online classes will start from next week in 12 subjects having the highest enrolment.

These classes will be of approximately 45 minutes each and not more than two classes will held in a day. The respective subject teachers in the schools will follow up with their students over phone or WhatsApp and clear the doubts, if any.

For Class XI students, live classes will start after the readmission of students post the Class X board exam results.

Further, apart from these regular teaching-learning activities, additional optional online teaching-learning activities will be added from time to time to enhance the learning activities of the students. The Directorate of Education will track the coverage and effectiveness of the remote teaching-learning approach on a regular basis. — IANS