Corporations say no to reopening schools on June 15

( Agree on starting online classes, but raise concerns over poor reach of technology)

Education officers of around 15 municipal corporations of Red zones in the state, including BMC, unanimously voiced their opinion against the idea of reopening schools on June 15 in a meeting with state education minister Varsha Gaikwad on Monday.

While they agreed to start online teaching by this date, they also raised concerns over the inadequate reach of technology among all students.

“All the Red zone corporations said that it would be impossible to start schools on June 15, because of the need to maintain social distancing,” Nitin Kale, incharge education officer of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation told Mirror.

The BMC’s education department is thinking of alternate solutions to impart online lessons to those who do not have access to technology.

“Even if the lockdown continues, we will start online classes from June 15. Virtual education can also be carried out on simple phones by making calls. Teachers can call 10-15 students and parents a day. We can even distribute textbooks to students by June 15. In this atmosphere of fear, it is uncertain how many students will attend,” BMC education officer Mahesh Palkar said.

Corporations pointed out that online education reaches only half of the students. “We came to the conclusion that it cannot cover over 50 per cent students in any municipal corporation. Many children of migrant labourers have gone to the villages in different states. Not all parents have android phones. And when they go for work, they will take the phones with them,” Kale pointed out.

The state government also is thinking of roping in a TV channel and radio station for a telecast period of a few hours to impart teaching.

NMMC and Thane Municipal Corporation is mulling giving tabs to secondary students along the lines of BMC’s old scheme.