Parent files petition in HC, seeks guidelines

Court gives time to NCERT, CBSE and MHRD to file reply by July 13

Tribune Web Desk

Updated At : 11:32 AM Jun 28, 2020 IST

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 27

Alleging absence of any standard operating guidelines by the NCERT, CBSE and the MHRD for conducting online classes by the schools, Anup Maini, a parent from Amritsar, had filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking directives on digital classrooms. The HC has granted time to the NCERT, the Department of School Education and the MHRD to file replies by July 13.

Seeking relief in two matters, Maini said the motive to file the petition was to highlight the adverse impact of online classes on children’s health. “The matter is of serious concern as children’s health problems are on the rise due to inconsistent and inadequate online education being imparted during lockdown. We want to urge the concerned authorities, including the NCERT, CBSE and the MHRD, to state proper guidelines regarding the conduct of online education by the schools. Students are facing serious health issues due to the stress as online classes do not follow a consistent pattern,” said Maini.

Maini’s counsel Sharad Mehra said, “ The court took notice of our argument that the government-aided and private schools are conducting online classes and collecting fee for the same but there are no guidelines on standard operating procedure for the schools to conduct these classes. Also, the duration of these classes are very long and do not consider safety of a child’s health.” The petition also seeks details of expenses being incurred by schools for conducting online classes as well as details of amount being charged by students as tuition fee.

The petition has got support from several parent associations and groups in city. Varun Khanna of the Amritsar Parents’ Association said: “A majority of parents are concerned about the health issues kids are facing in the wake of online education. There is no yardstick to measure teachers using online platform to impart education to students are trained enough to use the digital medium as an effective tool of learning. Also, the NCERT or the CBSE has not devised any standard operating procedure for conducting online teaching and so, there are many inconsistencies that are adversely effecting children’s health.”