There is a need to launch a decentralised education movement, on the lines of the literacy and people’s planning movements, in order to bridge the digital divide and democratise learning, a group of academics and writers said in a petition to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The petition, signed by K. Satchidanandan, J. Devika, P. Sanal Mohan, Rekha Raj, M.V. Narayanan, K.T. Rammohan, K. Ajitha, P.K. Pokker, O.P. Raveendran, Dinesan Vadakkiniyil, T.V. Madhu, Sunandan K.N., G. Harikrishnan and Dileep Raj, made a pitched plea for a comprehensive approach towards online classes.
Expressing concern over the social, psychological and educational fallout of the sudden switch to online classes, the group said that instead of replicating the offline mode of teaching online, the possibilities of the medium should be exploited and students given the freedom to access the classes at their own convenient time.
The interventions should be to empower the socially backward sections. Elaborate preparations are needed for decentralisation of education. Availability of equipment, adequate bandwidth and a conducive environment at home may be ensured with the help of local bodies and based on the peculiarities of the area, the petition said.
What is needed is a movement where the government system works in collaboration with people’s organisations. There was a need to set up helplines to address the concerns of parents and students, the petitioners demanded.
Dileep Raj, academic and one of the petitioners, said the need of the hour was to take this up as a sustained campaign and identify region-specific solutions to issues of lack of access and inclusivity. Further, there should be an attempt to exploit all the possibilities, including interactiveness, offered by the online medium.
