Govt. mulls online classes for municipal school students

In the wake of the prevailing pandemic situation, the State government has approved a proposal to conduct online classes for the students of classes 4 to 10 of municipal schools across the State.

LMS model

A Learning Management System (LMS) model has been put in place for the schools to follow after its implementation on a pilot basis in the five urban local bodies of Vijayawada, Tirupati, Ongole, Srikalahasti and Narsapuram.

Based on the positive feedback, the authorities concerned have decided to integrate the LMS module with video-conference for easy execution.

Schedule soon

The online schedule will be communicated to the students shortly.

Currently, the schools are closed due to the pandemic, and the officials have been asked to start online classes at the earliest.

The Municipal Commissioners have been asked to give priority to Class 10 students and ensure that the students and their parents are explained the significance of the online classes by the headmasters, Ward Education and Data Processing Secretaries, and ward volunteers.

The Department of Municipal Administration will conduct an orientation programme for the Ward Education and Data Processing Secretaries, headmasters, school supervisors and subject experts on how to conduct the online classes.

The headmasters have been asked to ensure conduct of classes strictly as per the schedule, and keep a vigil on the students’ attendance.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Municipal Teachers’ Federation (MTF) say that instead of online classes, the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) should design a programme that can be telecast through Doordarshan channels and viewed by the students of all schools.

Federation’s State president S. Ramakrishna said, to make the online classes module successful, the government should first address certain issues.

‘No access to Net’

Most children in municipal schools come from economically poor background and many households do not have access to smart phones and Internet. Such children would be left behind, he said.